In this episode, Betsy Wurzel interviews author Helen Sheehy about her novel Just Willa, a story inspired by Helen’s own mother. Growing up on tenant farms in Oklahoma and Kansas, Helen’s family history shaped her deep curiosity about her mother’s life, which remained largely unknown to her until after her mother passed away when Helen was 36.Helen Sheehy, a long-time theatre professor at Southern Connecticut State University, has authored biographies of three theatre pioneers: Margo:

The Life and Theatre of Margo Jones, Eva Le Gallienne: A Biography, and Eleonora Duse: A Biography — with the latter two named New York Times notable books of the year. After years of writing nonfiction, Just Willa marks her first venture into fiction, returning to her love of storytelling.In

Just Willa, the fictional Willa Hardesty is modeled after Helen’s mother, Wilma. The novel follows Willa, the daughter of a homesteader, as she navigates the challenges of farm life, the Great Depression, and decades of personal and social hardships. Willa encourages her daughters to pursue education for a better life, showing strength, grit, and determination despite the difficulties of the 1930s and 40s. Her husband Jake, a tenant farmer, also earned money bootlegging whiskey at local dances.

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