Black Sunday and the Women of the Dust Bowl with Jann Alexander, Author of Unspoken

What happens when a bright prairie day turns black at noon—and a family already shattered by loss must decide who can still be saved? In this episode of History Through Fiction, Colin Mustful speaks with Jann Alexander about Unspoken, a powerful novel set during the Dust Bowl that begins with the terrifying storm known as Black Sunday and opens outward into a story of separation, endurance, and the search for home. Alexander shares how years of research, oral histories, and Dust Bowl photography helped her write a novel that feels as close to lived experience as fiction can. Their conversation explores the historical reality behind the book: dust pneumonia, families who stayed instead of migrating west, the pressures placed on women during the Depression, and the environmental failures that helped create one of the most devastating ecological disasters in American history. Jann Alexander is an author, photographer, and artist whose work often preserves disappearing places and overlooked histories. She is the author of Unspoken, the first novel in her Dust series, and brings a deeply researched and visually rich perspective to the story of the Texas Dust Bowl. In this episode: What Black Sunday was and why it became a turning point in Dust Bowl history How Unspoken tells the story through Ruby Lee and her mother, Willa Mae Why Jann chose to focus on the people who stayed rather than those who left for California The role of state homes, asylums, and family separation during the Great Depression What the Dust Bowl can still teach us about land use, drought, and environmental responsibility today How photography and archival images shaped Jann's imagination as a novelist Listen to more episodes: https://rss.com/podcasts/history-thro... Explore more from History Through Fiction: https://www.historythroughfiction.com If you enjoy thoughtful conversations about historical fiction, hidden histories, and the craft of storytelling, be sure to follow, share, and explore the wider History Through Fiction community.