Episode
Fox Creek - Confronting America's Uncomfortable History with M.E. Torrey
- Published
- Feb 19, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3084
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Summary
M.E. Torrey - Author of "Fox Creek," a historical novel exploring slavery in the antebellum South In this powerful 51-minute conversation, author M.E. Torrey discusses her critically acclaimed novel "Fox Creek," which confronts the whitewashed narratives of plantation history. Torrey shares her journey from writing children's books to tackling one of America's most difficult historical periods, and why honest conversations about race and history are more important than ever. The Genesis of Fox Creek Torrey's eye-opening visit to Louisiana plantations in the 1990s Encountering tours that completely omitted slave narratives Three years of intensive research before writing the first sentence The challenge of finding authentic slave narratives vs. abundant plantation owner records Research Revelations The shocking diaries of James Henry Hammond (Governor of South Carolina) and Bennett Barrow How "ordinary people" justified extraordinary harm The concept of willful blindness among slave owners who considered themselves good people The FDR Writers Project interviews with ex-slaves from the 1930s Writing Approach Deliberately avoiding author judgment to create moral complexity Using "silence" as a literary device, especially for enslaved characters Crossing white and Black narratives to tell a complete story The most difficult scene to write: sexual abuse Contemporary Relevance Why white people need to see themselves in slave owner characters The importance of owning history without guilt or defensiveness How forgiveness and love are essential to healing The loss of community in modern America Parallels to current social justice movements Personal Reflections Growing up in integrated military schools in Europe The bubble of racial harmo…