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"The Pfeiffer children heard it first from neighbors who heard it from other neighbors who heard the Newsies screaming in the streets. What they heard was some version of this story, picnic ship capsized in the river with people aboard!" Chapter 1. A Family Tale Untold. Flower in the River. Natalie Zett
This episode includes two passages from A Family Tale Untold, which opens with the death of Martha Pfeiffer, a victim of the Eastland Disaster of 1915. But don't worry. She doesn't stay dead for long. You'll meet the rest of the family and get a sense of who they were through the lens of earlier times.
Also, some readers and former writing students asked me for the secret sauce of writing a book like this. It's easy! I'm resisting inserting a smiley face emoji, so I'm hoping you know not to take the "easy" reference as literal.
Secret Sauce for Writing a Family History (adapt for your own situation)
- Procure a very detailed family history document (as I did, via my Aunt Pearl). This document will be your launchpad. If such a resource is unavailable, no worries. Onto step 2 also known as, Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
- This step entails doing a mountain of research at least in my case (and most cases of family history). Oh, and don't forget the cavernous rabbit holes you'll be plunging into because these, too, take time. For example, there was little to be found about the Eastland disaster in the late 1990s when I was putting this story together, so I lived in rabbit holes for a few years-- and now enjoy lettuce and carrots as never before.
- Hit the road (if you can). Early on, I made many road trips and flights from Minneapolis St. Paul to Chicago and Wisconsin--my ancestral hotbeds.
- Acquire obsessive curiosity, dispense with confirmation bias, and be willing to let go of your present time. That's not too much. Then you can immerse yourself into their time, know them, understand them, and learn how to recreate them in the written word. For example, my ancestors belonged to me, but I knew nothing about them or their times, so there were no shortages of challenges.
This is about as detailed as my Slovak grandmother's recipes ("Put in some of this, a little of that, and make stove hot!"), but if you experiment, you can do it!
Come Back Home, Ardie Son, courtesy of Artlist
Twilight, 8opus, courtesy of Artlist, (Intro and Outro)
- Book website: https://www.flowerintheriver.com/
- LinkTree: @zettnatalie | Linktree
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-z-87092b15/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zettnatalie/
- YouTube: Flower in the River - A Family Tale Finally Told - YouTube
- Medium: Natalie Zett – Medium
- The opening/closing song is Twilight by 8opus
- Other music. Artlist
View all episodes
By Natalie ZettSend us a text
"The Pfeiffer children heard it first from neighbors who heard it from other neighbors who heard the Newsies screaming in the streets. What they heard was some version of this story, picnic ship capsized in the river with people aboard!" Chapter 1. A Family Tale Untold. Flower in the River. Natalie Zett
This episode includes two passages from A Family Tale Untold, which opens with the death of Martha Pfeiffer, a victim of the Eastland Disaster of 1915. But don't worry. She doesn't stay dead for long. You'll meet the rest of the family and get a sense of who they were through the lens of earlier times.
Also, some readers and former writing students asked me for the secret sauce of writing a book like this. It's easy! I'm resisting inserting a smiley face emoji, so I'm hoping you know not to take the "easy" reference as literal.
Secret Sauce for Writing a Family History (adapt for your own situation)
- Procure a very detailed family history document (as I did, via my Aunt Pearl). This document will be your launchpad. If such a resource is unavailable, no worries. Onto step 2 also known as, Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
- This step entails doing a mountain of research at least in my case (and most cases of family history). Oh, and don't forget the cavernous rabbit holes you'll be plunging into because these, too, take time. For example, there was little to be found about the Eastland disaster in the late 1990s when I was putting this story together, so I lived in rabbit holes for a few years-- and now enjoy lettuce and carrots as never before.
- Hit the road (if you can). Early on, I made many road trips and flights from Minneapolis St. Paul to Chicago and Wisconsin--my ancestral hotbeds.
- Acquire obsessive curiosity, dispense with confirmation bias, and be willing to let go of your present time. That's not too much. Then you can immerse yourself into their time, know them, understand them, and learn how to recreate them in the written word. For example, my ancestors belonged to me, but I knew nothing about them or their times, so there were no shortages of challenges.
This is about as detailed as my Slovak grandmother's recipes ("Put in some of this, a little of that, and make stove hot!"), but if you experiment, you can do it!
Come Back Home, Ardie Son, courtesy of Artlist
Twilight, 8opus, courtesy of Artlist, (Intro and Outro)
- Book website: https://www.flowerintheriver.com/
- LinkTree: @zettnatalie | Linktree
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-z-87092b15/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zettnatalie/
- YouTube: Flower in the River - A Family Tale Finally Told - YouTube
- Medium: Natalie Zett – Medium
- The opening/closing song is Twilight by 8opus
- Other music. Artlist