In this week’s video, we dive into the first section of Helen Fremont’s memoir, After Long Silence. We do an overview of the structure of the book, how she has divided it into a prologue, three sections, and an afterword. In studying section one, we learn how Fremont, with the help of her sister, gathered the information used to create this book and wrote this section as a journey story. We also broach some of the big questions raised in After Long Silence, such as:

• Who owns the story told here?
• Does a child need to know where he/she comes from to know who he/she is?
• Do Fremont and her sister have a right to know their history?
• Do Fremont’s parents have a right to hide their true identity even from their children?

In this short video, Helen Fremont talks about the consequences she faced in telling this story: Author Helen Fremont on Being Disowned & Declared Dead by Her Own Family.