Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz | Christy & Briana

In honor of Women’s History Month, we are delighted to share this exciting conversation with you. Christy and Briana sit down with a very special woman in our community, Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz! In this chat, you'll learn about the many roles fulfilled by the lieutenant governor; including, serving as Acting Governor when Governor Lamont is out of state, presiding over the State Senate, and serving as Chair of the Governor's Council on Women and Girls. Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz shares why Connecticut is among the best places for women and girls and for raising a family. We'll discuss exciting initiatives happening within the state and important ways to get involved. We'll even dive into CT's status as the Pizza Capital of the U.S. Starting March 14, you can cast your vote for the best pizzerias in CT, the top 100 will appear on the Pizza Capital Pizza Trail. Join us to celebrate women and girls, Connecticut, public libraries, and, of course, pizza! 

Helpful Links:

https://portal.ct.gov/governor/working-groups/governors-council-on-women-and-girls?language=en_US

https://irisct.org/

https://ctvisit.com/pizzatrailvote

Book & Film Recommendations

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine

The Womenby Kristin Hannah

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

The Six Triple Eight PG-13 2024 ‧ War/Drama 

This podcast uses music by Ashutosh, under a creative commons license:
Time by ASHUTOSH | https://soundcloud.com/grandakt
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

Transcript

Lt. Govenor Interview
===

Christy: [00:00:00] Welcome to Middletown Strong, looking up with Russell Library. I'm Christy Billings along with podcast team member Brianna Gagnon. Hi. And we are so excited today and proud to celebrate Women's History Month. We are speaking with Lieutenant Governor Susan Baisowitz. Thank you so much for making time on your busy schedule to tape our interview segment today.

Um, and I'll let Brianna take our first question. 

Briana: Yes. So it's important for women's voices to be heard and represented in government. You grew up in Middletown. I went to school here. Do you remember a teacher who spoke about women who had made a difference? Is there a woman or women who inspire you that you'd like to share with our audience?

Lt. Governor: Well, uh, so those are all great questions, and thank you so much for having me. Growing up, I loved the Middletown Public Library, and I feel like I grew up in the [00:01:00] Middletown Public Library. I figure also that my children did the same, uh, and I'm here all the time. So, thank you. Yes, we appreciate that. for, for having me.

I loved my Middletown public school teachers. I went to Moody school for elementary. I went to Kegwin middle school and I'm a proud graduate of Middletown. And I always say that my public school teachers and my parents made me the person that I am today. And, um, what's funny is that my kids, um, had some of the same teachers that I had growing up.

Which is kind of amazing to think about. And I wish that when I was going to the Middletown public schools that there were more teachers that talked about [00:02:00] women's contributions And I literally remember this book that I had when I was a kid because my parents always Would get us biographies because they thought was more practical than reading fiction So I had this book and it was called great men of science And what I remember about that book is There were 12 chapters about people like Albert Einstein, and Charles Darwin, and other men.

And there was one chapter about Marie Curie. And Marie Curie, uh, was someone who won two, Nobel Prizes for science. How about that? That doesn't happen a lot, um, but she won prizes in both physics and chemistry for the work that she was doing researching radiation and [00:03:00] some of the radioactive, um, substances that later came to treat cancer and anyway, um, I remember thinking Why is, why do we even have that as a title?

Why can't it be Great People of Science? Why does it, and why is there only one woman in there? Um. And it was really, um, when I went to college that I actually was very excited to take a course about, uh, women's history. And that was really, like, I had to get to college to really learn about famous women who made a difference in American history.

And it's not to say that along the way I didn't learn about, um, You know, some of the famous, uh, women, but sadly, um, there wasn't enough of that and I [00:04:00] hope that our curriculum has changed and one of the things that, um, is nice to see is that our state legislature has provided legislation to ensure that our students in public schools are learning About black history, about our Latino heritage, about indigenous people.

These are important things that our students should know. And 

Christy: haven't always been part of the curriculum. So, very good point. Right, 

Lt. Governor: right. We needed full months in order. Maybe there's a bill, maybe there's a future bill in there about women's contributions. 

Christy: I love that. So you have been an advocate and a voice for women and girls.

You're the chair of the governor's council on women and girls and you've championed small business owners and veterans during your time in Connecticut What is something you would like our listeners to [00:05:00] understand about the role of the lieutenant governor? And the work that you do in the state. 

Lt. Governor: Well, I will say this first of all, uh, there are Some important roles that the lieutenant governor plays and some of them So one, um, important role is being the governor, the acting governor, when the governor is out of state.

So he is in India right now. Governor Lamont has, has traveled to India on a trade mission, hopefully to, Bring some good businesses based in India to Connecticut. Um, one company called Infosys is, uh, a company that located here because of, uh, our administration's efforts. And so we thought that's been very successful and we have a lot of really great paying [00:06:00] IT jobs.

So, uh, we'd like to continue in that. So that's what he's doing. Um, for the week I am the acting governor. So that's one role. The other role is to preside over the state senate, um, in much the same way the vice president will preside over our United States senate. So that's another role. And you mentioned the Governor's Council on Women and Girls, and that is something that I have chaired.

Since we took office in 2019, it literally was one of the first. Um, official acts that the governor had, and it was to create this council on women and girls, and the council is comprised of all of our commissioners from every one of our state departments, there's over 30 of them, uh, and Uh, it's modeled after, uh, [00:07:00] President Obama's Council on Women and Girls at the federal level where his cabinet secretaries sat and made sure that every time there was a policy initiative that it would be thought about it.

from the perspective of, uh, women and girls. And so, um, we thought that this was something that was really important that we wanted to do. And so I've been proud to share that. And, um, our administration has been able to pass some significant legislation that has impacted, um, Women and girls and those include raising the minimum wage, um, and in January, it went up to 16.

35 an hour, um, which has been huge because we have 170, 000, uh, women who are heads of households. who are chief breadwinners and that has uplifted a lot of [00:08:00] families. Um, also our paid family leave program has now helped, my goodness, I've lost count. It's over 150, 000 families. Welcome a new baby, take care of a sick loved one, take time if you need to get cancer treatment, take care of an elderly parent, whatever it is.

Christy: Because life happens, so this is wonderful that our state does this for families and people. 

Lt. Governor: Absolutely, life does happen and actually the impact usually falls heavier on women because they're the ones who end up taking care of The parent, the child, or they're the ones having the baby and, and so, but I'll also say that men have taken advantage of this.

There have been, uh, men who have said they're gonna take paid leave with their baby, uh, and that's [00:09:00] very exciting. to see, because when you uplift women, you also uplift families. And, uh, men have taken advantage of this program as well. And we have, I think, one of the best, the best paid leave program in the country.

And other states have, have followed our lead. Um, so we're very, very Uh, proud of that, and I would also, uh, mention that we are a state that stands up for women's reproductive rights, and so we were very, uh, happy to sign into law two years ago the Reproductive Freedom Act at a time when Many states were severely limiting, uh, reproductive health care or even banning it.

And so, uh, we continue to think that that is really, really important to protect. 

Christy: And we're really happy to be [00:10:00] Connecticut people. Thank you. 

Briana: I just, I feel so happy that this is where. I live and work and it's a great, 

Lt. Governor: great state to be in. It absolutely is. And, and to that point, it's been, our state has been recognized as one of the best places for women and girls and to raise a family.

But we also have the best hiking in the country, which is interesting. 

Christy: Yeah So so much so many different spaces Yeah for people that are beginners right up to people that are gonna do something a little more intense. So that's right 

Lt. Governor: That's right. And of course we are the pizza capital 

Christy: of the United States.

Briana: I've had so many debates with my friend That's from New York about this and I'm like Connecticut pizza is it? It 

Lt. Governor: absolutely is and I'll put this out there for our Connecticut residents We are now Creating a pizza trail. So people will have the [00:11:00] opportunity to weigh in on what are the hundred best pizza places and in the state of Connecticut.

And you're hearing 

Christy: this on the Middletown Strong podcast, people. That's 

Lt. Governor: right. So you can, you can weigh in on some of your Middletown favorites, but then of course there are great pizza places all over the state. Um, and places that have the thin crust, and places that have the thick crust, or something in between.

Um, but I, I think it's very timely because we have a chocolate trail, we have a wine trail, um, we have a beer trail. We have an oyster trail, we have a Christmas movie trail, and so why, why has it taken so long to have a pizza trail? 

Briana: I love that. I'm curious, do you, what are your favorite places to get pizza in Middletown?

Lt. Governor: Oh my goodness, so growing up, [00:12:00] uh, Jerry's was my favorite. Jerry's was great. Um, and there used to be someone who worked, uh, at Jerry's Pizza. Uh, on Washington Street prior to when they moved to South Main Street, which is very near my house and very dangerous. That's right. Um, but, uh, this gentleman could always just look at you when you came in and said, Oh, you're the one who ordered the green pepper.

Onion pizza and he could just look at you and tell what your order was It was quite frightening. You didn't have to say I'm here to pick up, you know, or my name is he's like, oh, this is your pizza Wow, 

Christy: that's he was in the right business 

Lt. Governor: Absolutely, absolutely. I also love Mondo Great pizza love their salads But, um, their Napolitano is [00:13:00] really great.

It's the 

Christy: best. I know. It's, it's, we've had pizza and salads from both. We did, uh, Mondo's we did for our social media. Yep. Um, and went, and we would bring a book and talk about, like, the book along with some food. So that was really fun. So we'll have to do Jerry's. Yeah. That's on our list. We 

Briana: try to go to as many businesses in town.

Local businesses. Yeah, that we can and just kind of find a way to make the library incorporated with whatever. We pair, yeah, 

Christy: we pair our books with whatever the, the. The whatever we're going to 

Briana: yeah, 

Christy: so that's been a lot of fun. 

Lt. Governor: Oh my goodness Okay. So what books did you take to mondo? That's some soprano books.

That's hilarious 

Briana: Did we bring the godfather? I think we brought the godfather. Okay. Um, those were those are the two I remember the most Yeah, 

Christy: so it's always some kind of theme. Yeah, and um, so it's it's just fun. And of course we get to have lunch. So 

Briana: What's better than that? 

Lt. Governor: Can't miss 

Briana: out. 

Lt. Governor: Can't miss out.

Love that 

Briana: So how can local people become involved if there's an issue they [00:14:00] care about and want to have their voice heard at the state level? 

Lt. Governor: Oh my goodness, there are just so many ways to be engaged. And I'm just going to start at a very basic level. And the first one and most important step, I think, is to register to vote.

And vote anytime you have the opportunity. Um, and of course I used to be the Secretary of the State, so I guess it's not going to be a surprise that I will say that this is very important and I say that as somebody who has, uh, comes from a family of veterans, people who've put their lives on the line so that we have this very precious freedom that people in other countries do not have.

Um, and so, uh, please do that. Register to vote. I always tell people choose a party because if you choose a party, then you have more [00:15:00] opportunities. To vote because you get to help choose the candidates that your party will put forward and often that is a very powerful way of Participating so there are a number of ways to be involved.

You can be involved at the local level by paying attention to what your town council In Middletown is doing and we are in the midst of one of our long Sessions at the state legislature. So there are a myriad of bills that concern our budget Um, there are proposals to expand absentee ballot voting there are proposals that um would Enshrine women's reproductive rights and LGBTQ plus rights into our state constitution.

There are Bills on AI. There are, you name the [00:16:00] topic, we're doing a bill on drones tomorrow. Like, it, trust me, whether it's public health, or public safety, or transportation, the legislature is working on something of interest. So, you can, uh, follow what your local legislators are doing. You can follow what, Uh, different committees in the state legislature, uh, are looking at and you can go and testify and it actually Zoom makes it very easy because you can either go in person to the legislature, which is definitely kind of fun and I would recommend it because you can really see.

Uh, things happening, uh, and see the personalities and be right there when it happens. Or you can be in, at home, uh, wearing your cookie pants and sit and testify on Zoom. And [00:17:00] sometimes, you know, public hearings can go very, very late, late. Yeah. So it's actually quite, um, I think much more comfortable, especially late at night to be in your house.

But you can watch the legislature debating. You can watch legislative hearings because CTN is our vision, is our version of C SPAN. So you can pay attention and I'm always amazed when people will put that on and, and watch. And actually when I'm in my office and the legislature is in session, I will listen if the House is in session and hear the debate or listen to Um, different committee hearings, so, um, that's another way to be involved, but I also think that another easy way to become very active and very involved is to join one of the town committees, so either the Democratic or the Republican committees.

Town [00:18:00] committee, um, usually town committees, um, meet once a month and, um, you can start going to the meetings and you can volunteer. Right now we're going into a local election cycle so there are many candidates that you could volunteer to help and you better watch out because five minutes after you.

Join a town committee or even if you haven't joined it, they might be asking you to run for something Um, so it's really a great opportunity Uh to be involved in anything from planning and zoning to town council board of ed There's a myriad of local boards that make a difference in people's everyday lives and you can Be part of that 

Christy: Especially if it's something you're passionate about, I think this is a place where you can really step up and make a difference.

Lt. Governor: For sure, for sure. [00:19:00] And no matter, you know, what board you serve on, whether it's board of education, whether it's the city council, you can bring your expertise to the job. So that's why we have a really great citizen legislature because you have people who are nurses, people who are real estate agents, uh, people who are carpenters, you name it, small business owners, lawyers, everyone brings their lived experience and their professional experience.

We have a scientist, uh, research scientist named Jamie Foster who brings her scientific analysis, which is kind of cool, to her job as a state representative. 

Christy: So helpful. I don't think I realized that. So that's really cool that these are regular people. 

Lt. Governor: Absolutely. Social workers. Kai Belton is a social worker, right?

People bring [00:20:00] all kinds of different perspectives to the job and that's the great thing about the legislature But it's it would be the same if you served on a local board or commission You bring your lived experience, right? and you know I think that one of the things that the governor and I discovered as we were trying to navigate through COVID was That the leaders who help you make these difficult decisions, um, can really be a huge part of your failure or success.

In our case, I'd like to think it was success, but we had very, people from very diverse backgrounds who were Helping us get through the pandemic, um, and I think having a cabinet that was half women, that was 40 percent people of color, um, helped us to ensure that when we were making decisions about how to protect people that we had, um, [00:21:00] equity, that we had our most vulnerable citizens in mind.

Right? 

Christy: Right. Because having the representation really matters. Hearing from all the voices really matters. 

Lt. Governor: It does and having, um, people who come from urban areas, rural areas, uh, suburbs, all of those things, right, are things that, that matter. 

Christy: I love that. So we'd like to know if, if there's anything happening locally.

that you wish more people knew about? Well, 

Lt. Governor: I wish more people would come and see the resources that the Middletown Public Library has. How about that? Because I, I love Driving by the library and literally it opens at nine o'clock, right? Yes. And so I will often drive by and I will see a line of people waiting to get into the library.

And I think that's a good thing [00:22:00] because people want to go and maybe work on a resume, apply for jobs, you know, uh, there are so many of our students who are working on. Projects for school, and there are people that, um, want to meet, and you have fabulous meeting rooms, and all kinds of resources, whether it's books, online resources, there's so many.

Much so I think it is a real gem of the community libraries are the heart of a community Can you tell I was raised by a librarian? 

Christy: And we and you know because we know that you come in and you you utilized many of these resources So you're very aware. 

Lt. Governor: Absolutely. And my husband is a huge fan of the library whenever we read about a book that we want to take out.

We do not go on Amazon. We come to the library. [00:23:00] We 

Christy: love that. As you should. Yes, we come to the library 

Lt. Governor: like, Oh, we can order that. Even if the Middletown Library doesn't have it, they can, we can get it. We can 

Briana: get it from pretty much anywhere. 

Lt. Governor: It's so cool. And, and tell me if this is correct, because I'm pretty sure I learned this.

So you can take out a book with your Middletown Public Library card at another library. Any public library in 

Christy: Connecticut. Yes, and you can drop that book off as well, any place else, and it will get back to us. We have a wonderful system that utilizes that through our Connecticar system. 

Lt. Governor: Yeah, so I learned that because Um, when we were celebrating banned book week, we went to the New Haven Public Library.

And so, uh, I took out a book, RuPaul's, um, biography, because I wanted to see what all the fuss was [00:24:00] about. 

Christy: In Colchester. 

Lt. Governor: So fun. Yes. So we did that, but we also, we did something at the Colchester Public Library, we also did New Haven. Norwalk. We've been on a tour of libraries. I love that. That is awesome.

Christy: We're going to ask you about a book that you'd like to tell us about. Go ahead, Brianna. 

Briana: So is there a book, film, or a podcast on women's history that you read or watched recently or listened to that you want to recommend? 

Lt. Governor: Oh my goodness, I want to recommend the movie about the 6888. 

Christy: That is such a good film.

that yet. 

Lt. Governor: Yes, and it's Tyler Perry is the creative force behind it. And it is an amazing story about black women who, in the 6888 battalion, made, they, they took steps to deliver [00:25:00] mail to every soldier during World War II because two years, for two years, there was no mail that had been delivered. So, families were very concerned because they've been writing.

Imagine you're the mom, you're the dad, you're the sibling, you're the girlfriend, you're the wife, the fiancé, and you're writing to your loved one and you don't know if they got any of your letters. Meanwhile, the soldiers are writing and the parents aren't getting anything. And then there are warehouses in Europe.

with all these letters and it took the six triple eight women, all black women, to figure out this logistical nightmare that That no other men in the United States military had been able to [00:26:00] figure out, but women made it happen and, uh, True story. True story. And there are Connecticut women who were part of the 6888, which is just so cool.

That's 

Briana: so cool. 

Christy: Highly recommend it myself too. And that's 

Briana: on 

Christy: Netflix? 

Briana: Netflix. Netflix. 

Lt. Governor: Amazing. 

Christy: Yeah. Very, very good. So another recommendation, we're going to ask if there's a nonprofit or world changing organization that you value personally and want to bring awareness to. 

Lt. Governor: Okay, so I'm going to have to pick IRIS.

And IRIS is an organization based in New Haven, but they are also in Hartford. And it is an organization that helps immigrants and refugees. settle in Connecticut and they have, for instance, they have taken our allies who are people in Afghanistan [00:27:00] who helped our soldiers and our United States military, but now their lives are in danger if they stayed.

So those people have come to Connecticut and IRIS has helped them find a place to live, given them training for their lives. or whatever it is that they want to do. They've helped women and business people open their own business, um, they make sure that children, uh, get started at school. It literally is an amazing organization that finds Housing and employment and education for people who have been our allies who are new to the country to survive and thrive.

And it's a fantastic organization and we are a state of immigrants, one in ten. People in Connecticut have [00:28:00] come from somewhere else and all of us come from immigrant backgrounds, right? It's 

Christy: changing absolutely life changing. Mm hmm and so worthwhile. Yep. It's a great organization 

Lt. Governor: Absolutely Iris highly recommend it.

You can volunteer you can contribute There are many ways to be involved. Tell them I sent you. Absolutely. 

Briana: What is your greatest hope for Connecticut in 2025? 

Lt. Governor: Oh, I only get one. Well, you can have multiple. Hope, hope, lots of hopes. Lots of hopes. Um, oh my goodness. Okay. Um, well, let's see. I think that I would love to pass a balanced budget that.

Also addresses the many needs uh that we have in our state I am very very Excited for the women huskies. So i'm going to [00:29:00] just put in a plug that they win our national championship Yeah, okay, because we are the college basketball capital of the world. I didn't mention that before so I have that hope, and I also, uh, have hope for peace in the Middle East if we can go beyond Connecticut.

And, and for independence for Ukraine. Well, I 

Christy: love all of those. Yeah. I, I, we are hopeful for these things too because you're right. It must be very difficult trying to pass a balanced budget after hearing, because I've gone up and testified, after hearing all these people talk about the needs in Connecticut and what their resources mean to them and then to know how much financially is available.

Lt. Governor: That's right. It's a tough thing. It's always hard, but I'll say this, that Because we've been able to pay down eight and a half billion [00:30:00] dollars worth of debt and we hope by the end of the year ten billion, we save seven hundred and fifty million dollars in debt service. Because when you pay down early, you have more money to invest in the things that uplift people, right?

And I think a lot of folks don't. Um, so that that has helped with job training, free community college, expanding child care. And I'll just say, I'm also hopeful that the legislature will pass our early childhood endowment where, uh, we are putting in 300 million. We hope the legislature will approve that so that we can hugely expand our capacity to provide free.

or very low cost but high quality early childhood education for our children. [00:31:00] And what's wonderful about that is it gives parents the opportunity to work because child care is so expensive. Often, one parent will decide not to work because It just doesn't make sense economically to be paying so much for several kids that need early childhood care.

And so, um, we're hoping that the governor's, um, early childhood endowment gets approved. We'll be watching for that. That's transformative. Yes. 

Christy: Yeah, transformative for people, for Families and for the the kids to have this the both the building blocks in the beginning. 

Lt. Governor: That's right. That's right Because so much of the brain development happens between birth to five And so we want kids to be really prepared and ready to go when they step into kindergarten.

Christy: 100. Yeah So how can russell library be of service to you in your next steps on your personal and on your professional journey? 

Lt. Governor: Oh my goodness. Well, [00:32:00] i'll just say That what we need is Informed citizens and so the way to do that is to make sure You register to vote I'm sure you have voter registration cards as a library Yes, you can they can help you do that if you need to become a citizen the library can help you with that.

And so, uh, I'm looking forward to having many more engaged citizens and voters participate because, um, our democracy works the best when the most people participate. So thank you for being part of that and encouraging, uh, participation at all levels. 

Christy: We're a trusted resource. So yes, when people have questions, the libraries are a good place to go to get trusted sources.

Absolutely, 

Lt. Governor: librarians are, are very trusted. [00:33:00] 

Christy: Thank you so much for coming and speaking with us today. Brianna and I are thrilled and we look forward to seeing you more at the library. Thank you so much for having me.

Kim: Hello and welcome to the segment we're calling Turn that shh up! Projects at Russell Library that are too good to keep quiet. Spring is on its way, and the library is getting ready for the new season. We're sharing stories, experiencing international music, and making new animal friends. And joining me, of course, is Shannon Barrow Larry.

Hey, Shan. Hey, Kim. What's going on? I'm doing well. Um We always seem to get together when it's time for the Friends of the Library book sale. So, um, the next one is happening on Friday, March 28th, and Saturday, March 29th, here in the reading room of the library. Um, it's a great opportunity to update your shelves with some classic titles or popular items you may have missed.

Um, the book sale is open during [00:34:00] library hours and all proceeds support new programming and other projects at the library. On Sunday, March 30 p. m., the library will host the New Haven Chinese Cultural Cooperative in a spring themed program about how nature is incorporated in traditional music and poetry.

Participants will experience songs about flowers and flowing water as well as Tang Dynasty poetry. NHCCC is a non profit traditional Chinese music ensemble bridging cultures and people by bringing Chinese and Taiwanese music to communities around Connecticut. 

Shannon: That sounds really cool. That sounds really cool.

So that's a Sunday. Yeah. I'll have to make the trek. 

Kim: Yes. I was about to say. Well, and for everybody who's coming in, Sundays are free parking, so that's helpful. That's a bonus. I have heard a little bit of the music, uh, it's really worth the trip. No, that sounds great. 

Shannon: And now updates from our children's department.

It will also continue its family story time series on Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings. Join our children's librarians for [00:35:00] stories, songs, friends, and free play. The kids department will also host their alphabet academy series on Wednesday afternoons. And our librarians have also planned a session with the safety Paw troll.

To tea Paw troll? Like Paw Patrol? Sorry.

To teach dog safety with the Connecticut Humane Society on Monday, April 14th at 3 p. m. Kids will learn how to be safe around dogs, read dog body language, and how to safely approach, greet, and interact with dogs. That sounds like a fun program. 

Kim: Yeah. 

Shannon: You know, who There are so many kids and animals. They always just want to like.

Pet and like squeeze because they're so cute, but then dogs are so they're fragile still 

Kim: Yeah, you know and you don't know kind of what their history is. Yeah, so 

Shannon: that education It's really good because they just run up and they're like puppies and honestly as a grown adult I do that as well, but I've learned to [00:36:00] restrain myself 

Kim: Yes.

Shannon: So. Yes. But. 

Kim: Let the puppy come to you. 

Shannon: Let the puppy come to you. The Mystic Aquarium's Touch Tank will also pay a visit to the library at April 15th at 10. 30am. Educators will bring an assortment of live animals such as lobsters, horseshoe crabs, and shellfish to entertain and educate people of all ages.

I gotta say, animals at the library is always a hit. 

Kim: Yeah. 

Shannon: We had owls. We've had a llama. The chicks are back. The chicks are back. We'll have them two more times this year after. 

Yeah, 

Shannon: so full fun with books, music, and animals here at Russell Library. There you go. There we go. A full compliment. 

Kim: And so if you want to check up on any of our other events Please visit the library's online calendar on our website.

Now, on for our next segment of the podcast, Shelf Life.

Christy: Hello and welcome to [00:37:00] Middletown Strong, looking up with Russell Library. Today, we are doing Shelf Life. I'll let everybody introduce themselves. I'm Christy Billings. Stephanie Rush, Shannon Bear Larry, and Brianna Gagnon. And this is Women's History Month. Steph, do you want to explain a little bit about our topic?

Stephanie: Sure! So, um, it kind of came together through a hive mind, but um, Christy was really interested in doing some women's history Highlights for the month of March and we were kind of like, all right How do we talk about women's history and books? Like what is the topic? What's the niche? And I don't know if someone thought of it and we all decided it was a good idea So we decided to focus on historical fiction that stars or focuses on women.

Which we have not. We haven't really done that in the past We've talked about female authors. We've talked about Um, you know, marginalized authors, but we haven't really ever focused on historical fiction that centers women or is written by women or both. So I thought that would be a fun topic for us to talk about today.

And I 

Christy: understand that your book has a twist. So why don't we start 

Stephanie: with you? Okay, I'll start with my [00:38:00] twist. Um, so I went back in, as you know, if you listened before, in my spreadsheet, um, to see if I had a historical fiction recommendation for this. And I wasn't finding one that was really speaking to me, so I had to go back a little bit.

Um, But I settled on Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll, um, if you're familiar with this book. It has like a bright yellow and pink cover. It's stunning. Um, but yes, it's historical fiction, but it's also an alternate history. And, um, I'm also calling it a victim focused crime thriller, which is a Yeah, that's fair.

A genre I made up, but it fits. That really fits it perfectly. Right? Right. Okay. So, um, I love this book. Um, so this is a fictionalized alternate history telling of some of the murders of Ted Bundy. 

Fun. Yeah, 

Stephanie: so I was gonna say for those of you who don't know what this book is about, like Shannon, no, no, no, please, please, this is the reaction I want.

Um, yeah, so um, it's set in 1978 at a sorority house in Florida, which is It's loosely based on what actually happened. Um, and the story follows Pamela, who is one of [00:39:00] the surviving women of this incident at the sorority house. And then it intertwines her story with that of Tina, whose friend has gone missing, and she believes that the cases could be linked.

And Tina is in a more contemporary timeline, so it's got two timelines, two women, and their circumstances are intertwined. Um, so this book is really tense. But it's page turning and the writing is excellent, which you don't always get in crime thriller writing for whatever reason Um, it's usually more about the plot, but the writing in this book is really excellent.

Intriguing, very intriguing, yes, compelling And it also has a really good discussion and depiction of the sexism and misogyny that happens when we talk about crime and safety So it's really focused on the women And the victimization and the way that women victims get talked about in the media, especially around true crime.

Um, so I like this because it's written by a woman and it focuses on the victims. And a lot of true crime and crime writing does not. And I also liked it because it's just super compelling and a really interesting way to tell a story that a lot of us think we already know, [00:40:00] but from a different lens. Um, so that's Bright Young Women by Jessica Nolte.

I'm blown away. I would really recommend reading it because I read it, too, and it's so good. It's sad. People told me it was good and I was a little skeptical, but I was like, no, it's good. It's really good. That's a five star 

Shannon: right there. I like that it has a beautiful cover. It does. It like entices you in and then you open it up and you're like, That's not where it was supposed to go.

Exactly. It's dark. It's really dark and the 

Stephanie: cover is not dark. The color is like neon almost. Okay. 

Christy: Interesting. Yeah. We have a display right now in the lobby that has beautiful covers. We do. I, I know we're not supposed to pick a book that way, but those books are 

Stephanie: flying 

Christy: off the shelf. 

Stephanie: That's actually a beautiful segue because the other day Um, another colleague turned to me and said, Have you seen this book?

It should go on the beautiful cover shelf. And it is the book that Brianna is going to talk about. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. So Brianna, do you want to tell us about your book? Yeah, so. My. You didn't know I was going to segue you there. I did. 

Briana: That was really good. Surprise. So I'm going to talk about a book that's called Junie by Aaron Crosby Eckstein.

Hopefully I'm [00:41:00] saying her last name right. Sounds good to me. It just came out recently in February. Um, it's set in, like, very, like, pre Civil War, like, 1860. It's about this 16 year old girl named Junie who lives on a plantation in Alabama. Junie is in charge of taking care of the master's daughter, Violet.

And so they kind of grew up together, so. Yes, so they're more 

Shannon: like friends in the master's daughter's mind. 

Briana: So, the interesting thing that it explores is like in Junie's mind, and I think in both of their minds they're friends, but it's not 

Christy: Equal. 

Briana: It's not equal. Yeah. And so Junie has a bit of a growing up experience where she realizes that what she saw as a friendship actually is not quite what she had in mind.

And what Violet saw, um, the master's daughter, also It's, it's very different than what they thought, I think, as children. Um, I'm intrigued now. And then Junie's also dealing with like, a secret that comes out about her sister who passes away a year before the story starts. Um, just like one of those dark family secrets that comes to light and [00:42:00] then she finds out some things and you're like, oh.

Um, so very much coming of age, like beautifully written historical fiction. Um, and I have, I just really enjoy reading Civil War era books. So when I saw this was coming out, I like got it, um, immediately. And I would highly recommend reading it. 

Christy: Cool. It's interesting that we've all picked books about women that are Truly have a dark aspect.

Yeah. In all 

Stephanie: different eras. I know. We have something for everybody. We really do. Yeah, and that, and that wasn't purposeful. I think that was just, we all brought something really different to the table. Yeah, Chris, do you want to go? I'll go. 

Christy: All right. Mine is in 1965 and I'm doing The Women by Kristen Hanna, and if you have not read this book yet, run, do not walk, to the bookshelf and get one.

If you've not seen this book then I don't know. You've been living under a rock. Yeah. Yeah. Um, we are going to be discussing the women for books and brews in March, um, at our new location, Forest City Brewing, 180 Johnson Street in Middletown. That's March [00:43:00] 13th at 6 p. m., a little, a little commercial there, but, um, So this book is set in 1965, and the world is changing with 20 year old nursing student Frances, also aka Frankie McGrath, dares to imagine a different future for herself.

When she hears the words that women can be heroes, too. It is an absolute revelation to her. She's been raised in the sun drenched, idyllic world of Southern California, sheltered by her conservative parents, and she's always prided herself on doing the right thing. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows through.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and the destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life, death, hope, and betrayal. Friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war she meets and becomes one of the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

This book is Unbelievable. And it's a [00:44:00] little on the longer side, right? I have the large 

Stephanie: print. It's a chunker. But it's a 

Christy: page turner. So, um, highly recommend The Women by Kristen Hanna. And then come have a beer with us and talk about it at Forest City Brewing. 

Stephanie: And this was one of, like, the most checked out books last year, I believe?

Yeah, and I 

Christy: think it's on the list again. 

Briana: Yeah, so it's on the list for the Tournament of Books. Yeah. I was about to say that too. Which is happening. Yeah. So make sure you get 

Stephanie: your votes in if you want that book to win. And if you haven't read it yet, this is the perfect time to read it so you can vote for it if you'd like.

Absolutely. And if you 

Shannon: have questions about Tournament of Books, you can just come visit us at the library. That's right. And we can help you with that. Get your sheet. Get your sheet. And if you have no idea what 

Stephanie: Tournament of Books is, you can come ask us at the library. It's like March Madness style, but um, for books.

For books. It's a cool bracket. Yeah. Yeah. Alright. Shannon! How do you want to round us out? 

Shannon: Oh, God. How am I gonna read this? No pressure. Well, let's, uh, we're gonna go to Imperial Russia. Of course we are. Of course. We've been all over the world. That is where you live. I guess in, like, your [00:45:00] spare time. So, the book is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

Um, so I think probably Anna's the most notable female character in literature. I could be wrong. I don't know how many people know the story, but it's a long one. And it's not just about Anna, it's about Imperial Russia, it's about families, it's despair, it's triumph, it's everything mixed in together. Um, Anna's one of those characters that You love, you hate, you want to shake her sometimes but you also are very empathetic and sympathetic to her at the same time.

So Anna gets married at a very young age and what this kind of has led to her, because it's patriarchal society, this is what young women do, she never understood what love was. And um, so she has a notable affair that's kind of talked about throughout. The kingdom and everybody's talking about it. And so [00:46:00] she is shunned from society Mind you her husband sticks by her side the entire time While she's having this like very obvious affair with this young man Who she thinks she knows like she thinks she loves him.

She thinks this is what love should be so if we all kind of remember maybe that like First time love that we have when we're like 16 and it's like so the world just like falls to pieces like everything around them, anything, everything matters is just this person. That is what is brought through by what Tolstoy brings to the character.

I will say, so I've read his other books, just know, yes, this is a man writing about a woman, but his wife was also editing the book with him. I have never read such a well developed female character by a man and maybe he did do this. That is great. But I also give props to his wife as well. 

Stephanie: Stephen King and his wife do the [00:47:00] same thing?

Yeah. How many times can I add Stephen King into a podcast episode? But yeah, yeah, Tabby will give him ideas too. Yeah. To make sure that his female characters are better. I love that. 

Shannon: Yeah, well, and then that's great because then you're getting the real point of view. Yeah. You know, rather than what a man thinks.

And 

Stephanie: constructive feedback that you can actually work from instead of people being like, You don't write women well, and then they just say, Oh, well. I always 

Shannon: wonder, like, the male writers who write these different characters, I'm like, Do you, like, interview people? Do you delve in? And, like, females too. Yeah.

Or whatever. Have you ever met a woman? 

Stephanie: Sometimes I think that when I read male writers sometimes, I think have you ever met a woman in your life and sometimes it shows that they have not. 

Shannon: No, well it's however you identify yourself, how are you going to get into the mind of these people and really show through the page that this was so well done and I love this book, I thought it was amazing, I read it a long time ago and I've talked about it probably on here a couple times.

Stephanie: I actually didn't know the plot of this book. Oh, you didn't? It's like you think you know [00:48:00] the plot of these classics, but I actually did not know the plot of any of them either. Oh, I didn't either. Let's just 

Shannon: say it's a tragic ending. Um, and Anna goes through, it's like an uphill battle just to have this love affair and it turns even, you know, it's a, it's a tragedy, but it's a wonderful.

Wonderful novel. 

Christy: So why would someone read it today? Like because it was at the time it was modern, right? I'd like to see now as a as a 

Shannon: it gives you insight and to Literally what imperial Russia was and society and their culture as a whole So it's giving you another a different outlook into a different time period 

Stephanie: I also like the point that you made that it's you didn't say coming to me and Brianna didn't hers but this like intensity of like Falling in love as a young person and I'm like, that's what got, that's what hooked me.

I'm like, yeah, that's the part I want to read, but I didn't know that was in there. 

Christy: Yeah, that's wild because mine is coming of age, too. So that's really interesting. We have 

Stephanie: a lot of overlapping themes. We have a lot of shared themes. 

Shannon: So Triumph, [00:49:00] tragedy, despair, coming of age. Yeah, I mean, 

Stephanie: we pick books about women, so.

Shannon: Yeah, that's our lives. It's an uphill battle all the time. We got this. Cool. 

Stephanie: That was a really interesting array of books. We have a lot of options for our listeners now. Yeah, even in 2025. Yeah, in 

Shannon: 2025. 

Stephanie: Thanks for listening to Shelf Life. And if you have questions or want other book recommendations about historical fiction, you know where to 

find us.