Collaborcast Collaborist

Hi Collaborist!
Thinking about writing a memoir? Have some things you really want to say, but worry you might get in trouble for it? Whose story is it anyway? We go over some things to keep in mind as you tell the story of your life and the people who have made guest appearances.

Hey Collaborist! On this episode of Collaborcast we're joined by journalist and author Meg Kissinger. She talks about what went into writing her memoir While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence. We discuss not only the craft of writing memoir, but also the profound mental work that is required of us when telling stories about our own lives and the lives of those closest to us.
Join Jason, Katelyn, and Ben as they welcome Meg Kissinger to Collaborcast!
ABOUT MEG KISSINGER - Meg Kissinger spent more than two decades traveling across the country to report on America’s mental health system for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A Pulitzer Prize finalist, she has won dozens of accolades, including two George Polk Awards, the Robert F. Kennedy Award, awards from Investigative Reporters and Editors, and two National Journalism Awards. Kissinger teaches investigative reporting at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and was a visiting professor at DePauw University, her alma mater. Her stories on the abysmal living conditions for people with mental illness inspired changes to Wisconsin law and led to the creation of hundreds of new housing units. She lives in Milwaukee with Larry Boynton, her husband of more than 40 years.
ABOUT WHILE YOU WERE OUT -Long-listed, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year 2023
From award-winning journalist Meg Kissinger, a searing memoir of a family besieged by mental illness, as well as an incisive exploration of the systems that failed them and a testament to the love that sustained them. Growing up in the 1960s in the suburbs of Chicago, Meg Kissinger’s family seemed to live a charmed life. With eight kids and two loving parents, the Kissingers radiated a warm, boisterous energy. Whether they were spending summer days on the shores of Lake Michigan, barreling down the ski slopes, or navigating the trials of their Catholic school, the Kissingers always knew how to live large and play hard. But behind closed doors, a harsher reality was unfolding—a heavily medicated mother hospitalized for anxiety and depression, a manic father prone to violence, and children in the throes of bipolar disorder and depression, two of whom would take their own lives. Through it all, the Kissingers faced the world with their signature dark humor and the unspoken family rule: never talk about it. While You Were Out begins as the personal story of one family’s struggles then opens outward, as Kissinger details how childhood tragedy catalyzed a journalism career focused on exposing our country’s flawed mental health care. Combining the intimacy of memoir with the rigor of investigative reporting, the book explores the consequences of shame, the havoc of botched public policy, and the hope offered by new treatment strategies. Powerful, candid and filled with surprising humor, this is the story of one family’s love and resilience in face of great loss.
For more information about Meg, visit www.megkissinger.com
For more information about Collaborist, visit www.collaborist.org
 

Hey Collaborist -
Have you ever read a memoir and wondered how much of it was true and how much of it was "true?" On this episode of Collaborcast we discuss reader expectations and author intentions in the matter of retelling the story of a lived life. Is truth important in memoir? Is it possible to be 100% accurate with an unreliable memory? Does it matter?
ABOUT THE HOSTS:
Jason Buchholz’s acclaimed debut novel, A Paper Son, published by Tyrus Books in 2016, explores themes of migration, borderlands, heritage, and the sometimes hidden stories that bind us all together. He has ghostwritten books and book proposals for a variety of authors and as an editor he has fostered the development of dozens of manuscripts, both in fiction and nonfiction. He has also worked as a journalist and a travel writer. A current nonfiction project has him hiking and kayaking deep into the quiet landscapes of the many wilderness areas of Northern California, where he lives. When he’s not writing or reading he spends his time playing and traveling with his son and daughter. Jason graduated from UC Berkeley and holds an MFA from the University of San Francisco.
Ben LeRoy has long been fascinated by the power of words and story to connect and expand the world. He was the founder and publisher of the critically acclaimed publishing companies Bleak House Books (2000-2009) and Tyrus Books (2009-2017) until the latter was sold to Simon & Schuster. During his time in publishing, Ben was a frequent speaker at conferences and routinely interviewed for pieces about the industry. In 2014, after the suicide death of a friend, Ben did volunteer work in all 50 states as part of the Be Local Everywhere project.
RESOURCES & LINKS:
Need an Editor, Ghostwriter, or Coach? Hire a Collaborist! – https://collaborist.org/services/
More about Jason Buchholz - http://www.jasonbuchholz.com/
More about Ben LeRoy – http://www.thebenleroy.com
 

Hey Collaborist - Are you wanting to tell your life story, or, at the very least, part of it? Well, we have an episode for you. Jason has put on his fanciest college professor gear to explain the difference between a memoir and an autobiography!

Hey Collaborist, do you ever find yourself asking just exactly what is an MFA in Creative Writing and what can you do with it? You're not the only one. On this episode of Collaborcast, we talk with Jennifer Reimer, the Program Director of the Low Residency MFA program at Oregon State University Cascades Campus. What can you get out of an MFA for your education? For your writing community? What to look for in terms of expenses and environments.
We've had multiple people email us in the past asking -- What is an MFA in Creative Writing and Do I Need One? Hopefully, after this episode, you'll know more and know more detailed questions to consider.
Thanks to Jennifer for joining us. Thanks to the world's coolest producer, Katelyn. Thanks to Self Help for the music.
If you enjoy this podcast in video form, you'll be super jazzed to know you can watch it on YouTube.

We've all been handed the advice "Write What You Know" at one point or another on your writing journey. But what does that mean? How will people know if we're writing outside of that?
Good questions. We'll address them and others like, "What does it mean in today's publishing environment?" Experience or research? Both? What are the pitfalls that might expose us? Does it matter? Are different genres equipped with different rules?
All that and more on this episode of Collaborcast with hosts Jason Buchholz and Ben LeRoy.
Thanks to Katelyn Ferral for producing and Self-Help for the music.
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