Acclaimed literary essayist T Kira Madden’s raw and redemptive debut memoir is about coming of age and reckoning with desire as a queer, biracial teenager amidst the fierce contradictions of Boca Raton, Florida, a place where she found cult-like privilege, shocking racial disparities, rampant white-collar crime, and powerfully destructive standards of beauty hiding in plain sight.
As a child, Madden lived a life of extravagance, from her exclusive private school to her equestrian trophies and designer shoe-brand name. But under the surface was a wild instability. The only child of parents continually battling drug and alcohol addictions, Madden confronted her environment alone. Facing a culture of assault and objectification, she found lifelines in the desperately loving friendships of fatherless girls.
With unflinching honesty and lyrical prose, spanning from 1960s Hawai’i to the present-day struggle of a young woman mourning the loss of a father while unearthing truths that reframe her reality, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls is equal parts eulogy and love letter. It’s a story about trauma and forgiveness, about families of blood and affinity, both lost and found, unmade and rebuilt, crooked and beautiful.
Madden is in conversation with Allie Rowbottom, author of Jell-O Girls.
Better Than the Movie 14: THE GREEN KNIGHT / SIR GAWAIN AND... w/ Conor Holt
Better Than the Movie 13: MONEYBALL w/ Michael Chin
Better Than the Movie 12: THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY w/ Emily VanKoughnett
SKYLIT: Tommy Orange, WANDERING STARS
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SKYLIT: Will Harris, SURELY YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS
Better Than the Movie 11: NIGHTBREED / CABAL w/ Garon Cockrell
Better Than the Movie, Ep. 10: THE THIN MAN w/ Jen Johans
SKYLIT: Rosecrans Baldwin, EVERYTHING NOW
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Better Than the Movie, Ep. 9: PRISCILLA / ELVIS AND ME w/ Collin Jonkman
Better Than the Movie, Ep. 8: KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON w/ David Kimbel
Better Than the Movie Halloween Special: GOOSEBUMPS
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Better Than the Movie, Ep. 5: JAWS w/ Kristen Lopez
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