An Authors Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Grinelle Desjarlais, on air from October 24th
Grinelle “Buzz” Desjarlais, author of Saving KC (Classic Day Publishing, September 17, 2024), the historical fiction novel set against the backdrop of post-Vietnam America which delves into the complexities of addiction, recovery and redemption. The new re-released edition of Saving KC offers readers a unique experience by presenting two alternate endings, allowing them to choose between a hopeful conclusion and a more somber, thought-provoking one. Saving KC explores the human condition through the lens of addiction and the quest for personal salvation. Desjarlais, who comes from a long line of Native American creatives, brings a deeply personal narrative to life, reflecting his own experiences through fictional storytelling.
Set in post-Vietnam America, Saving KC is a story of addiction, recovery and redemption
New addition with dual endings allows readers to choose their own ending
In an interview, he talks about:
Why he decided to allow the readers to determine the fate of the characters by offering two different endings to the story
Why he decided to set the story in post-Vietnam America
His work as an activist dedicated to supporting Native American communities
Co-founding the NATIVE Project, a non-profit that initially served as an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment center for Native youth
How he brought twelve-step meetings to the Washington State prison system for nearly a decade
How his father represented their native culture in the 1939 classic film Susannah of the Mounties alongside Shirley Temple
His great-grandfather, Mountain Chief, was a revered figure in their community
Born on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation in Montana, also known as the Chippewa Cree Reservation, Buzz comes from a lineage steeped in creativity and cultural preservation. His father famously represented their native culture in the 1939 classic film Susannah of the Mounties alongside Shirley Temple, while his great-grandfather, Mountain Chief, was a revered figure in their community.
Beyond his writing, Buzz is an activist dedicated to supporting Native American communities. He co-founded the NATIVE Project, a non-profit organization that initially served as an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment center for Native youth, using a combination of traditional Native American healing practices and twelve-step programs. Recognizing the growing substance abuse issues among urban Native youth disconnected from reservation life, the NATIVE Project has since expanded into a full-service clinic under the Indian Health Service (IHS), providing comprehensive care to the urban Indigenous population of eastern Washington. Buzz also brought twelve-step meetings to the Washington State prison system for nearly a decade.
Buzz’s life has been filled with diverse experiences, including his service in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Germany. He has lived in various parts of the world, including California, and now resides south of Seattle with his wife, Loni. His daughter, McKenzie, and her family, including grandsons Cowen and Kaplin also live nearby.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
Authors Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Stacia Moffett, on air from October 22nd
Stacia Moffett, author of the “Lost and Found in Tennessee” series? The two-book historical fiction series, The Missing Girl and Jessa Is Back explores the South’s cultural and racial legacies through compelling stories of friendship, resilience, and identity. Moffett’s writing is informed by her own life experiences growing up in Nashville, Tennessee, and studying in Mississippi during the early 1960s.
Stacia Moffett explains, “Current events are challenging those hard-won changes by romanticizing the 1950’s as the ‘good old days’ but that is a fallacy. I want to create stories that not only transport readers to a different time and place but also encourage them to think critically about the enduring legacies of the past. Through the characters and their struggles, I hope to offer a deeper understanding of the South and its complex history.”
Stacia Moffett’s Lost and Found in Tennessee historical fiction novels examine the complexities of the American South during a transformative time
The South’s Cultural and Racial Legacy: How growing up in the South, amid the legacy of Jim Crow, shaped her and others’ understanding of cultural and racial dynamics.
Inspiration Behind “Lost and Found in Tennessee”: How witnessing segregation and white supremacy led to the creation of the series.
Message on Racial Injustice: What she hopes to convey to those unaware of ongoing racial inequalities.
Book Bans and Censorship: Her thoughts on the increasing trend of banning books, particularly those addressing race and identity.
The Missing Girl’s Connection to “Jessa is Back”: An exploration of the book’s themes and how it ties to her other works.
The Power of Friendship: How the girls’ bond highlights resilience, loyalty, and the effects of social dynamics.
Writing Historical Fiction: Her approach to blending research with personal experiences.
Literary Influences: Authors like Anne Tyler and works like The Help that shaped her writing.
Stacia Moffett, author of the “Lost and Found in Tennessee” series, was born into a family of educators in Nashville, Tennessee. Her experiences on a small farm nurtured her love for nature, dogs, music, art, and the warmth of family. Moffett’s academic journey took her to Mississippi in the early 1960s, a time and place that profoundly influenced her understanding of the South. With a Ph.D. from the University of Miami and postdoctoral training at Duke University, she and her husband taught and conducted research at Washington State University. Now retired, they reside in a canyon of the Snake River, where their son runs a commercial vineyard. Stacia’s writing reflects her Southern roots and offers readers insights into the cultural forces that continue to shape lives in the South. For more about Stacia Moffett and her work, visit Stacia Moffett’s
The “Lost and Found in Tennessee” series will be available in hardcover and e-book formats from Classic Day Publishing, an imprint of Peanut Butter Press.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
Sara’s View of Life with Sara Troy, on air from October 15th
Yes, I’ve got bronchitis again—this husky voice isn’t the sexy kind, and neither is bronchitis. But I had a wonderful birthday weekend. My son and the kids pitched in to rent a beautiful house at Qualicum Beach, up in the mountains. We overlooked the ocean and trees, with morning mist making it feel like we were above the clouds. It was exquisite.
We had a wonderful time with conversation, fun, and great vegan food. On my actual birthday, we went mini golfing. I even got a hole in one! Of course, I also had that one hole that took me ten tries, but it was all in good fun. Watching my little grandson give up on the golf ball and just plop it in the hole himself was priceless. It was a celebration of my son’s 40th coming up, too, and an early Thanksgiving; it was magical.
We enjoyed so much delicious food—wonderful vegan dishes my son prepared, along with beautiful soups and breakfasts made by all my daughters. It was all just lovely. We spent time watching the wedding videos of my daughter-in-law Jess and my son Tyler, reminiscing as if we were walking down the aisle with them once again.
The whole weekend was wonderfully relaxed, which was exactly what we needed. It wasn’t about rushing around or keeping busy; it was about savoring that laid-back family time together. Whether we were sharing meals, playing cards, or just hanging out, it was all about the simple joy of being with each other. That kind of togetherness is what truly matters.
Unfortunately, I caught a cold from the little ones before we left, and it turned into bronchitis. It’s been a tough week trying to shake it off. Since RSV last December, it feels like I’ve been sick more often than not—COVID, bronchitis, you name it. But if something’s important, I just keep going, trying to find a Doctor even a virtual one, has been hard, but finally got some antibiotics and now on the mend.
I often wonder if this resilience is from my generation’s “suck it up and get on with it” mentality. We rarely had the luxury of putting ourselves first, but it’s important to find balance and take care of ourselves too.
Turning 70 brought reflections—good and bad memories, and the resilience that carried me through even when things got tough, like during my marriage. My kids always knew I loved them, and that love brought them home. That’s the foundation of everything: love.
It pains me to see how kids today are struggling with values. When a 13-year-old gets lured to a beach and beaten by other kids while onlookers cheer, it’s clear we’re failing them. Too many children today feel entitled but lack connection, compassion, and a sense of purpose.
Parenting is hard, especially with social media’s influence. But boundaries and teaching kids self-love, respect, and responsibility can help. They need to learn that life isn’t handed to them; it requires effort and accountability.
Despite being unwell, I’ve got some wonderful shows lined up for you. From science and spirituality to saving ancient trees, and a fabulous music show featuring George Witty and Ellis Hall. Remember: listen, learn, and apply. Until next week, take care. I’ll be resting up and hopefully back with a voice.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
“For the LOVE of Music” with Sara Troy and her guest George Whitty & Ellis Hall on air from October 15th
When music legends George Whitty and Ellis Hall decided to turn their long time mutual admiration society into an official partnership, they committed full throttle to recording their explosive contemporary twist on classic R&B and came up with a clever branding idea.
Rather than simply calling themselves Whitty Hall, Hall added “Artistic Team” to create WHAT. Add in a handful of exclamation points and WHAT!!!! was born. As the full CD shaped up, with its probing commentary on the ups and downs of living today, the title In the World suggested itself as the accompaniment to the band’s name.
When long time fans of these two keyboard powerhouses and newcomers to the Whitty-Hall experience check out these eclectic ten tracks, their initial responses will truly be a rousing, “WHAT!!!! In the World?”
Whitty says, “At first glance, there’s a little inside joke in there, but it also speaks to Ellis’ and my observations of the world we live in, pooling and sharing our various life experiences together.” Their pitch-perfect creative mission statement is “WHAT!!!! puts the fun in funk!”
Once the multi-Grammy winning Whitty and long beloved “Ambassador of Soul” and former Tower of Power vocalist Hall had their name and title down, next up was picking the perfect lead single. The goal was an invitation to immerse in the freshness of the grooves, the dynamics of their array of keys (including Whitty’s Moog bass and drum programming and Hall’s Hammond B-3 organ) and the surreal magic of Hall’s multi-octave vocals. The obvious choice was “Die Living,” a simmering soul anthem whose thought-provoking title came spontaneously to Whitty one day and inspired a grooving,gospel-blues fired track spiked by what Whitty calls “a front porch kind of thing.”
In addition to organ, Hall adds various flavors of guitar on the track. Partly inspired by a casual but witty response Willie Nelson once gave to an interviewer who asked if he would ever think of retiring, “Die Living” is a song about wringing every last drop of life we can out of our time here, and seeking wisdom from others on how to do that. It’s a plea encouraging us to literally die while living as fully as possible and feeling as optimistic in old age as we did in our youth.
As Hall sings in the first chorus, “Cause I want to die living/Help me sail into the sun/And I want to die believing/Life has just begun!” The engaging, insightful verses are essentially conversations with a “brother” who has wisdom to impart, an “old man” who can help us “steer clear from the fruit of the poisonous tree” and, as Whitty’s two boys taught him, “how much we loved to laugh and play.”
As Hall sings in his inimitably powerful way in the bridge, the hope is to “play it loud and long/Finish clear and strong/Just the way I did when I was young…!” “The son is basically asking different people for advice on how to live our best lives,” says Whitty. “In the second verse, Ellis added some interesting lyrics to what I had written, which was a shout out to joyful little kids who can also teach older folks a thing or two about living. He is a great lyricist with a good feel for the right words that just sort of tumble out of him to meet the occasion perfectly.”
WHAT!!!! and the In the World album have their roots in another of the album’s instant classics, “Hug Me,” an epic, six-minute power ballad/anthem Whitty and Hall recorded in 2023 as a tribute to the strength and resolve of the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s bloody invasion – a way for artists to help in any way they can. Featuring the ethereal vocals of the great Ukrainian singer Maryana Golovko, the track is a powerful re-imagining of Slava Varkachuk’s Ukranian hit “Obiymy (Embrace).” The compelling video for the song intercuts clips of the two playing their parts (and Hall singing) in different studios with footage of Golovko singing in an outdoor setting and stark color and black and white images of the war’s youngest victims, the children. The recording went live on the fundraising platform United 24 within minutes of submission and currently has thousands of views on YouTube.
Whitty had been a fan of Hall’s since he “kicked my ass so hard” when he headlined as Tower of Power’s lead singer at a mid-80s performance at NYC’s The Bottom Line. Hall’s longtime project manager (and longtime “watcher”) Alec Berfield had been bugging the singer about meeting Whitty for years, and when Whitty, with Berfield’s prompting, sent him his initial tracks for “Hug Me,” he knew it was divine timing. “Listening to what George had put together, I heard an opportunity to add some nice vocal harmonies to the track,” says Hall. Whitty adds, “I wanted it to start out simple and stripped down and build into a powerhouse symphony kind of vibe. Once I had a bass line going, it opened up into a big, epic Peter Gabriel type of sound. Ellis took it from there and wrote great English lyrics to it which deal with the human emotion side of the conflict, not the politics.”
With three of the 10 songs recorded live in January 2024 at Inner Sanctum Studios in Coos Bay, Oregon, In The World – executive produced by Berfield and David Ford – also includes the up-tempo blues/soul/funk barnburner “Own Up,” the emotional, mid-tempo pop/soul ballad “Miami” and “Why Should I Care,” a heartfelt, poignant ballad about human indifference that Hall wrote years ago when he simultaneously heard about the Jonestown, Guyana tragedy and a previous Palestinian-Israel conflict. Prior to this dynamic re-imagining, Hall had sung it at African American summits in South Africa and Zimbabwe and it was one of Nelson Mandela’s favorite songs.
The new collection also features the beautiful, moody introspection “Some Days Were Meant for Rain,” which Hall originally recorded on TOP’s 1987 album Power (the only album the singer recorded with the band during his tenure from 1984-88). WHAT!!!! also recorded a fiery live-in-studio version of the Sam & Dave classic “I Thank You.” The band includes guitarist David Ford, bassist Armand Sabal-Lecco (famous for his tours with Paul Simon) and drummer Aaron Haggerty (Al McKay, Kool & The Gang, Gary Clark Jr., UB40).
A little background: For the past three decades, George Whitty has been playing live with everyone from the Brecker Brothers, Herbie Hancock and the late David Sanborn to Chaka Khan, Richard Bona, Sadao Watanabe and many others. As a producer and session keyboardist, his credits include Santana’s blockbuster Supernatural (with Dave Matthews), Celine Dion’s Falling Into You and These Are Special Times, Hancock’s The Imagine Project and hundreds of others. He has won four Grammys for his work on Chaka Khan’s The Woman I Am, Randy Brecker’s 34th and Lex, Michael Brecker’s Tales Fromthe Hudson and the Brecker Bros.’ Out of the Loop.
In addition to his years with Tower of Power, Ellis Hall – who has been sightless since age 18 – fronted the Ellis Hall Group in the 70s, has written over 4000 soul, gospel, blues and pop songs, performed with the likes of Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Herbie Hancock, George Benson and Maurice White and recorded with John Klemmer, George Duke and Kenny G, among countless others. He has also written and performed on many film soundtracks including The Lion King 2, Shrek 2, Invincible and Bruce Almighty. He also sang a Louis Armstrong tune in the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can.
Speaking of his musical chemistry with Whitty, Hall says, “We are true brothers from another mother! I keep telling George to get outta my head sucka!” Whitty adds, “We just clicked right away and made each other laugh. From the get-go, I knew it would be easy to work with him and a lot of fun as well. Every time I get tracks from Ellis, it feels like Christmas Day. I guess I was on the good list. I was on a plane coming home to LA from New York recently and received some tracks from him in flight. They were so great that I was sitting there in my seat at 2 a.m. just smiling and kind of exclaiming; I wonder what the other passengers thought I was doing.” Hall adds, “It’s just a joyous thing and my word for joyous is ‘chakalaka’!” “Die Living” will proudly be released in October in association with Mike Dion and ITI Records, followed in January 2025 by the album In the World.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
Quantum Spirituality with Sara Troy and her guest Dr Kumar Murty, on air from October 16th
The Science of Human Possibilities with Dr. Kumar Murty presents a convincing narrative where evolution and spirituality are complementary, not competing forces...
Dr. Murty explores themes such as the art of learning, navigating uncertainty, fostering discipline, shaping identity, honoring tradition, and embracing enlightenment. Through Murty’s reflections as a Mathematics Professor intertwined with profound Vedanta teachings, he makes the case for the infinite potential inherent in the human experience, empowering individuals from all walks of life to evolve and flourish.
— Ray Sharma, Founder and CEO of Extreme Venture Partners Kumar Murty, a distinguished mathematician and scholar deeply rooted in the Indian teachings of Vedanta, brings over four decades of expertise in mathematics as a revered professor at the University of Toronto and Director of the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences. Surrounded by brilliant minds in the realms of math and science, Murty has witnessed the untapped talents within each student who crossed his classroom threshold. Embark on a quest to unlock the boundless capabilities of the mind with insights that seamlessly blend scientific rigor with spiritual wisdom. Drawing from his dual expertise in science and philosophy, Murty illuminates the interconnectedness of mental acuity and spiritual enlightenment. The Science of Human Possibilities is a beacon of inspiration tailored for anyone yearning to unearth their latent gifts.
Vijaya Kumar Murty, FRSC, is an Indo-Canadian mathematician renowned for his work in number theory. He serves as a professor at the University of Toronto and is Director of the Fields Institute. Dr. Murty has made pioneering contributions to areas such as analytic number theory, algebraic number theory, information security, and arithmetic algebraic geometry. His academic journey includes a PhD in mathematics from Harvard University in 1982 under the guidance of John Tate. Dr. Murty has been recognized with numerous accolades, including being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Fellow of the Fields Institute. His dedication to the field has also been acknowledged through his election as a Foreign Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (India). Dr. Murty’s impact extends beyond academia, as evidenced by his pivotal role in informing policy decisions during the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada and his visionary projects, such as the Fields Multiplier initiative.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
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