Alumni Ink
A Dramatic Debut
In her first novel, Accidents of Providence, Stacia Brown 98T 07PhD relates the harrowing story of glovemaker Rachel Lockyer, who is condemned to death in 1600s England for secretly burying her illegitimate newborn. Brown, a former Woodruff Fellow at Candler School of Theology, began the historical novel in 2006 after finishing her dissertation. She says she wanted to delve into what life was like for women during the English civil war. "I wanted to explore the moral consequences of inaction as well as action," says Brown, now Emory's director of development for clinical programs. "The consequences of waiting too long—to do something, to become something, to say something—can be disastrous. But we all have been in such situations." According to a review in O, The Oprah Magazine, "For all its period detail, this debut seems remarkably modern in its depiction of love and politics—proof that a historical novel can be educational and entertaining, and nothing like homework." Brown is finishing her second novel, The Year of Ought, about an evangelical missionary in San Francisco in the year 1900 who accidentally marries the wrong sister; it is set to be published next year.
Not the Bible Belt
Not the Bible Belt: Part memoir and part irreverent coming-of-age tale, K. Dawn Goodwin 97C's Until He Comes: A Good Girl's Quest to Get Some Heaven on Earth describes her childhood attending a Christian academy and continues through her experiences as an undergraduate, where she majored in English and creative writing—and, if the book is any indication, sex. "With a unique combination of biting, sardonic wit and touching vulnerability, Until He Comes takes you on her journey from ostensibly innocent schoolgirl with a desire to please God and her parents to self-aware young woman," reads the Amazon.com review.
Melody Moezzi
Melody Moezzi 06L has been published in the anthology Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women, in which "American Muslim women writers sweep aside stereotypes to share their real-life tales of flirting, dating, and sex." Their stories show just how varied the search for love can be—from singles' events and college flirtations to arranged marriages, all with a singularly Muslim twist.
