“Finding My Voice” with Mimi Nichter (GWTW880)

For almost 50 years, today’s guest didn’t talk about what happened to her on September 6, 1970 when the plane she was on was hijacked. But in her new book, Hostage: A Memoir of Terrorism, Trauma, and Resilience, Mimi Nichter recounts her story of what happened before, during, and after her hostage experience. In our conversation, we talk about her work as a cultural anthropologist and the ways observation and listening inform our ability to understand others. She also touches on how she found her voice in the writing process, choosing to write from memory instead of interviewing others, how images and stories helped memories to emerge, reconciling our past and present selves, the value of compassion, and why we need to talk about what happens to us. When we share our stories with one another, either in memoir or conversation, we connect not only to moments in time, but bear witness to the experiences that shape history itself.

Show Links

• Mimi Nichter
• Hostage: A Memoir of Terrorism, Trauma, and Resilience by Mimi Nichter
• Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: Aerial Drone, Where Desert Meets the Ocean, Sandwich Harbour, Namibia, Africa