Navigating Identity and Personal Narratives

I'm always a little intimidated when I interview a guest who's actually a real journalist, but in this case I was a little extra intimidated because not only has Amanda Fairbanks written a highly successful book, "The Lost Boys of Montauk", but she's been interviewed by countless real journalists, book writers and other literary intellectuals. Of course, my misgivings were entirely misplaced, because, as you'll hear from this episode, Amanda could not have been more engaging and easygoing. "Lost Boys" is an amazing tale, not solely of a group of young men lost at sea, but of their family histories, their relationships with their loved ones, and how they all ended up on this doomed fishing voyage. But the book is not without some controversy, as some (well-known) family "secrets" get revealed, and Fairbanks made a few interesting literary choices. But the author is honest and forthcoming about her work, the choices she made and the response to it, good and bad. And as usual, we go off on a few tangents about life on the East End, her next project, and our mutual New York Times Spelling Bee addiction.