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The Importance of Contradiction with Brittany Means

Fierce Conversations with Toby

Release Date: 01/23/2024

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Find all interviews at Transcripts available at In this episode, Brittany Means discusses her new memoir, Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways. About Brittany Means: Brittany Means is a writer and editor living in Albuquerque, NM. A graduate of Iowa's MFA Nonfiction Writing Program, Means has worked with Inara Verzemnieks and Kiese Laymon. She has received several awards for her work, including the Magdalena Award, the Herodotus Award, and the Grace Paley Fellowship at Under the Volcano. Notes from Toby:  I have long been a fan of Jeannette Walls. Her memoir Glass Castle gave me...

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Find all interviews at https://www.youtube.com/@fierceconversationswithtoby

Transcripts available at https://tobydorr.com/podcast-schedule/

In this episode, Brittany Means discusses her new memoir, Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways.

About Brittany Means:

Brittany Means is a writer and editor living in Albuquerque, NM. A graduate of Iowa's MFA Nonfiction Writing Program, Means has worked with Inara Verzemnieks and Kiese Laymon. She has received several awards for her work, including the Magdalena Award, the Herodotus Award, and the Grace Paley Fellowship at Under the Volcano.

Notes from Toby: 

I have long been a fan of Jeannette Walls. Her memoir Glass Castle gave me permission to tell my own crazy story. Today, I’m lucky enough to live within an hour’s drive of Jeannette and so I’ve been able to connect with her at several book events. A few months ago, Jeannette posted on Facebook a photo of her with a young college student, and shared the story that many years ago Jeannette was speaking at a college when a girl came up to her for a photo and shared that she wanted to be an author also. Today, that woman, Brittany Means, just published an amazing memoir. Jeannette reached out to me and said, “Toby, I think Brittany could be one of your fierce women!” I immediately scheduled her interview. Of course, I also bought the memoir – and you should too! Another powerful life story by a talented woman author!

Key Topics and Time Stamps:

[6:57] What did putting your story out into the world feel like?

[10:24] Who has been your most important mentor?

[18:58] Brittany talks about the adjustment from being homeless to being a college student.

Links: 

If you want to be empowered in your life, listen to Brittany!

https://www.brittanymeans.com

https://www.brittanymeans.com/book

https://www.instagram.com/brittanymeansit/

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Toby Dorr:

https://www.patreon.com/fierceconversations

https://linktr.ee/fierceconversations

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https://www.youtube.com/@fierceconversationswithtoby

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Credits:

Created by Toby Dorr.

Produced by Number Three Productions, a division of GP Publishing.

Theme song:

Lisa Plasse: Composer, arranger, and flutist

Caroline Parody: Piano

Tony Ventura: Bass

For more information on these fabulous musicians, please go to https://tobydorr.com/theme-song/