Episode 542 - Nancy French

Episode 542 - Nancy A. French - Ghosted

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)

Bestselling Author Pens Compelling Memoir of a Life of Poverty, Success and the Rise and Fall of Political Influence in ‘Ghosted’

Nancy French chronicles her journey from the foothills of

Appalachia to the Halls of the White House

Five-time New York Times bestselling ghostwriter Nancy French crafts the story of a journey of hardship,heartbreak and healing in Ghosted: An American Story, releasing April 16, 2024.

Nancy’s family was born in the foothills of Appalachia into a life dominated by coal mining, violence, and poverty. Some of her family were proud members of the Ku Klux Klan who lived on the mountain.

“The mountain was a playground of mischief, with its coal mines, ubiquitous guns, and plentiful dynamite. My dad described his twenty-five cousins as ‘rednecks, rough and ready,’ and they drank, fought, and stole their way honestly onto wanted posters,” writes Nancy. “Compared to how my parents grew up, we were wealthy beyond our wildest imaginations … as far as I was concerned, we were living the American dream.”

Growing up in the church, Nancy’s childhood was full of innocence and a strong faith in God until betrayal of a trusted young preacher forced her to carry a dark secret of sexual abuse, which would one day spur her to advocate for herself and other survivors. It wasn’t until her path crossed with a young Harvard Law School student named David that her faith and emotional well being was restored.

Nancy left her college career, married and settled in New York City. Feeling she had escaped the mountain, she could have never imagined the twists and turns her life would take. She supported David as he was deployed to war and became friends with Ann Romney, who asked Nancy to write her memoir at the height of her husband’s presidential campaign.

Her writing journey led her to sitting in the home of the Palin family drafting Bristol Palin’s book, which became a New York Times bestseller and set Nancy on a track of being one of the most-sought-after ghostwriters in conservative circles.

“I’d had the ‘conservative talking points’ down to a science,” Nancy writes. “I could write about American military strength, ‘family values,’ and personal responsibility and know exactly how it would be received among other

Conservatives.”

Yet, Nancy went from conservative darling to suspected traitor when she stood her ground and refused to endorse an unsuitable president. She found herself isolated in a sea of political confusion and occupational uncertainty.

“Politics felt like a battleground—where political barbs were warranted, expected, and part of the fun. Though I eschewed my family of origin’s pugilism and violence on the mountain, combativeness was in my blood. I was prone to feistiness in my approach to politics because the stakes always seemed high. I wasn’t about to let my deeply held beliefs be watered down by civility.”

Facing ridicule from Republicans, targeting from white nationalists, and alienation from her church community, Nancy weathered threats, humiliation and ostracization to discover the power of her own voice and the unlikely allies hidden among perceived enemies.

“The ‘religious right,’ which I’d defended my whole life, had abandoned the posture of ‘family values’ when they had the chance to gain a seat at the table,” writes Nancy. “It confused me to hear the values preached from the podium but ignored in real life. It was all a life, and so was the ‘lesser of two evils’ myth.”

Ghosted is not just a memoir; it’s a poignant American narrative of transformation, resilience, and the enduring pursuit of love, blending humor and personal insights into an engrossing tale of change and loss.

“Throughout my life, I desperately wanted to identify the ‘good’ people and the ‘bad’ people, so I could walk more confidently among them—befriending the good ones, avoiding the bad ones. I’d categorized people into tribes a