"My career is not a straight path; it's a lot of happenstance where I just sort of somehow get a job and then figure out how to do it once I'm there," says Rachel Hartigan, author of Lost: Amelia Earhart's Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life.

Today we have Rachel Hartigan, who, yes, is dignified and reputable. She’s the author of Lost: Amelia Earhart’s Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life. It’s published by Nat Geo.

We share an agent, so that was how her book got on my radar. If you’re a relative newb to the Amelia Earhart story, Rachel’s book is a riveting take on the three main theories of Earhart’s tragic death either by castaway, captive, or having sunk at sea in her beautiful Lockheed Electra. Rachel weaves together all these theories with a lean, propulsive biography of a woman far ahead of her time.

She’s written about everything from the genetics of persimmon trees to the long road to women’s suffrage for National Geographic. She is the former editor of the Washington Post's Book World and she has also covered education and culture for U.S News & World Report. You can learn more about her at rachelhartiganauthor.com. Had a lot of fun with this as we talk about:

Happenstance
Hard-earned experience
Breaking down David Grann’s The Lost City of Z
Modeling a text
Focusing on clarity
Being in partnership with the reader
Being a minimalist interviewer
Saying yes to things
Finding something new to say about Earhart
Why Earhart is still appealing to this day
Cave Day
And learning how to sell your story as if you’re telling it at a cocktail party (this echoes Alex Ronan’s quip)

Pair this episode with David Grann's two appearances, Nick Davidson's appearances, as well Cassidy Randall's appearances.

Episode 538: The Enduring Mystery of Amelia Earhart with Rachel Hartigan

The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara

Episode 538: The Enduring Mystery of Amelia Earhart with Rachel Hartigan