#173: Maggie Andersen — Memoir, Theatre and the Courage To Write

What does it mean to turn a life of art, love, and loss into story? How do we write honestly about the people who shaped us? And what can theater teach us about the art of memoir? In her debut memoir No Stars in Jefferson Park (Northwestern University Press), writer and professor Maggie Andersen tells a Chicago coming-of-age story that alternates between the exhilaration of founding a theater company and the devastating realities of loss, resilience, and rebuilding. In this conversation with Maggie Andersen, we discuss the craft of storytelling at the intersection of theater and memoir, what it means to write through loss, and the risks and revelations of choosing your own story.