Chapter 1 – Thelma & Louise

“Mandy and I spent our first few weeks working together just developing a comfort level. I knew from writing my own memoir that the process of revisiting the past can be a vulnerable one, and I knew it would be important for Mandy to build trust and camaraderie as we delved deeper into her story. We met a few times a week via Zoom, and we talked about everything from her childhood to early experiences in journalism writing for her high school paper. We talked about books she admired and big themes that were important for her to highlight in her own book. She was committed to writing a book that would inspire young journalists, the kind of book she wished she’d had when she was starting out. Both of us admired Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s She Said, and Mandy also liked Julie K. Brown’s Perversion of Justice. Finding the right jumping off point to her story was key: our first chapter went through a few revisions. But by the time we arrived at the chapter’s current version, we both felt confident that all the crucial elements were in place. I think of this chapter as Mandy (and Liz’s) superhero origin story.”

– Carolyn Murnick