Stephanie Gorton, an accomplished writer and journalist known for her work in The New Yorker and Smithsonian, delves into her captivating dual biography exploring Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett. She shares insights on blending narrative structure with authentic historical contexts, reflecting on her writing journey shaped by life changes and community support. Gorton highlights the challenges of self-editing and the rich tapestry of personal archives that illuminate women's struggles, connecting past reproductive rights to present-day issues.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Starting Writing Career Later
Stephanie Gorton started her writing career after working in indie publishing for about a decade.
Her transition to writing was inspired by authors she met in an MFA nonfiction program at Goucher College.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Productive Writing Routine
Stephanie likes to write in short focused sessions, setting lenient daily word count goals.
She arranges writing in the morning and revisions after lunch for better productivity.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Value of Breaks and Feedback
Taking long breaks from drafts and then returning fresh helps to see structural problems.
Feedback early in the process is crucial to reshape and simplify the narrative.
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Contraception and Abortion in 19th-Century America
Contraception and Abortion in 19th-Century America
Janet Farrell Brodie
Citizen Reporters
S.S. McClure, Ida Tarbell, and the Magazine That Rewrote America
Stephanie Gorton
The sex side of life
Constance M. Chen
From Private Advice to Public Virtue
From Private Advice to Public Virtue
The Birth Control Movement and American Society, 1830-1960
James Reed
Devices and Desires
Andrea Tone
The Butler
The Butler
A Witness to History
Will Haygood
Killing the black body
Dorothy E. Roberts
This book chronicles the war against Black reproduction from slavery to the present day, exposing America’s systemic abuse of Black women’s bodies. It covers topics such as the economic stake in enslaved women’s fertility, government programs that coerced sterilization, and the criminalization of parenting by poor Black women. Roberts argues for a new standard of 'liberty' and 'equality' based on social and individual justice, emphasizing the need for government to foster these values.
Icon and the Idealist
Icon and the Idealist
Stephanie Gorton
What My Bones Know
A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma
Stephanie Foo
In this memoir, Stephanie Foo recounts her life after being diagnosed with complex PTSD, a condition resulting from continuous trauma over years. Despite her professional success as a radio producer, Foo struggled with panic attacks and the lingering effects of physical and verbal abuse, as well as neglect by her parents. The book details her efforts to heal herself by interviewing scientists and psychologists, trying various therapies, and investigating the effects of immigrant trauma in her hometown of San Jose, California, and her birth country, Malaysia. Foo's narrative is both a personal account of trauma and a critical analysis of how societal structures compound individual suffering, offering hope and practical insights for those seeking to heal from similar experiences.
Stephanie Gorton is a writer, editor, and journalist whose work has been published in a range of outlets including The New Yorker, Smithsonian, and Paris Review Daily. She has worked in editorial roles at several independent presses, and her first book came out in 2020, titled Citizen Reporters: S. S. McClure, Ida Tarbell, and the Magazine that Rewrote America. Her second book, which came out in November, is The Icon and the Idealist: Margaret Sanger, Mary Ware Dennett, and the Rivalry that Brought Birth Control to America. It’s a fascinating dual biography that brings to life two complicated leaders of the birth control movement in the early 1900s, and the lasting impact of their actions and interactions. We spoke early this year, and I loved getting to hear more about Stephanie’s research and writing process, especially how she thought about narrative structure and revising with feedback.
Drafting the Past 
