My Favorite Stories of 2017

2017 was a...rough year.  BUT there were a lot of good stories to come from it, so in no particular order, here were my favorite stories of 2017.  We'll start with the Podcasts:

I know I've mentioned this podcast before, but it remains one of the best stories I've ever listened to. It made me laugh, cry, and just generally FEEL (which was hard to do in the numbing shock that was 2017). Even though this is nonfiction, it still influences me and helps me to think about the ways in which to tell a good story. 

Told in a similar way as S-Town, Dirty John is an episodic (but limited) nonfiction podcast.  It is about love, deception, forgiveness, denial, and pretty much every other feeling you could feel. You can listen to the destruction that John Michael Meehan causes as the podcast or you can read about him on the LA Times website.  The podcast isn't quite as...lyrical? Poetic? as S-Town, but it's content will make you want to binge it.

You might be familiar with the basic story of Heaven's Gate.  A cult who in the 90s wearing Nike sneakers, decided to commit suicide, thinking their souls would be carried to the afterlife on a spaceship that followed the Hale Bopp comet. But, what this story does is take you deeper.  Glynn Washington (whose voice is just so...smooooth) interviews old members of Heaven's Gate, families of those who lost their lives in the cult, as well as those who still believe in the teachings of Heaven's Gate.  It is a beautiful tribute to those who are gone, and yet a scary glimpse into cult activity.  

Now, I promise I do actually read books sometimes.  In fact I read 31 of them in 2017, and two of them I can't seem to get out of my head:

Most people will know Trevor Noah from The Daily Show, or his stand up, and admittedly that's as far as my knowledge went before I picked up this book.  Coming from Dutch heritage, historically I have a...shaky history with South Africa (Afrikaans evolved from Dutch vernacular), which also makes me interested in it (in an honest, I know my people should feel bad kinda way). Trevor Noah is from South Africa. The way he tells the story of his childhood will both shock you, scare you, and make you laugh (he is a comedian after all).  He grew up during Apartheid, and while America has its own rough history with segregation, its interesting to hear it from such a modern point of view.  Segregation in America wasn't that long ago on the historical timeline, and racism of course is still rampant, but Apartheid lasted until 1991! I was 3 years old.  It's just nuts.

I'm still thinking about this book.  This reminded me a lot of S-Town, as it also takes place in the American South.  This is a memoir by J.D. Vance, about his Appalachian upbringing and his eventual leaving of that culture to becoming someone higher educated, wealthier, and therefore moving into a different culture.  He pairs his memoir with commentary on class, wealth, and culture. There isn't anything dry about this book though. Each chapter opens a new window into the life of the Appalachian South. 

And that's it! My favorite stories of 2017.  Let me know if you read or listen to any of these stories.

Memento Mori

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