Martha Hodes, MY HIJACKING & Adam Bessie, GOING REMOTE

We talk with historian Martha Hodes about her memoir My Hijacking: A Personal History of Forgetting and Remembering. In 1970, she survived six days as a hostage on a hijacked plane when she was twelve years old. Then, teacher Adam Bessie tells us about his take on how the pandemic has driven us apart—and what it will take to bring us together. His graphic pandemic memoir is Going Remote: A Teacher’s Journey. It’s illustrated by Peter Glanting. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram and Threads @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice. Read transcripts and subscribe at the Writer’s Voice Substack Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Key Words: hijacking, memoir, Covid 19, community college, Martha Hodes, Adam Bessie, writers voice, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, book excerpt<br /> Martha Hodes on My Hijacking<br /> On September 6, 1970, twelve-year-old Martha Hodes and her thirteen-year-old sister were flying unaccompanied back to New York City from Israel when their plane was hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and forced to land in the Jordan desert. Too young to understand the sheer gravity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Martha coped by suppressing her fear and anxiety. Nearly a half-century later, her memories of those six days and nights as a hostage are hazy and scattered. Was it the passage of so much time, or had trauma made her repress such an intense life-and-death experience? A professional historian, Hodes wanted to find out. So she used her training as an historian to interrogate the history of that hijacking. My Hijacking explores contemporaneous accounts, personal and collective memory and the political context surrounding these event to create a nuanced and riveting narrative about the lingering impact of trauma. About the Author<br /> Martha Hodes is professor of History at New York University, and the author of several books. She won the Lincoln Prize in 2016 for her book, Mourning Lincoln. Read an excerpt from MY HIJACKING  Adam Bessie, Going Remote<br /> Community college English professor Adam Bessie found his world transformed when the pandemic exiled education from the real classroom to the digital realm.