The Media Narrative

In a conversation about her book, The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich discusses how writing about the case of a convicted pedophile and murderer compelled her to reexamine her assessments of the legal system and her memories of abuse in her family.

During the 2017 interview, Marzano-Lesnevich talks about connections between storytelling and the law (3:00); structuring and editing her book (8:00); embracing contradiction in the book's narratives and characters (15:30); the death penalty and the hazards of judgement (18:30); truth in nonfiction (23:00); and her newer work focusing on the Cambodian genocide (26:50).

The interview was conducted at The Village Works, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Books and Articles Mentioned in the Episode

The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir

Now Write! Nonfiction (by Sherry Ellis)

"Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" (by Gay Talese)

The Situation and the Story (by Vivian Gornick)

In Cold Blood (by Truman Capote)