All Episodes
Andrew is joined by authors Allison Hong Merrill and Rachel Rueckert to discuss their recent memoirs of childhood trauma, marriage, and faith. Allison’s Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops tells of her childhood in Taiwan, raised in an abusive and chauvinistic home, her religious conversion, and her sudden decision to marry an American returned missionary. Sixteen months later, he abandons her in Texas and files for divorce. Desperate for love and acceptance, Allison moves to Utah and enlists in a dating war against the bachelorettes at BYU, where the rules don’t make sense—and winning isn’t what she thought it would be. East Winds: A Global Quest to Reckon With Marriage is Rachel’s story of a year-long honeymoon backpacking trip around the world, studying marriage practices in each society she and her new husband visited, while reflecting on the path that brought her there. Though young and in love, she wasn’t sure she actually believed in marriage, let alone the lofty Mormon ideal of eternal marriage. The trip offered her the chance to examine what marriage-including her own-meant to her. The authors discuss their stories, Mormon marriage expectations and realities, and the craft of writing memoirs. The episode also features special co-host Jenifer Larson-Hall.
