Lizzie Hershberger grew up in an Amish community in Minnesota. She is a survivor of sexual abuse and rape, and she left the community, eventually writing the memoir, Behind Blue Curtains: A True Crime Memoir of an Amish Woman's Survival, Escape, and Pursuit of Justice. As she began speaking out and connecting with other sexual abuse survivors from Amish and Mennonite communities, she connected with journalist Sarah McClure, who published a year-long investigation about incest, rape, and abuse in Amish communities.
Hershberger and McClure then set out on years-long journey filming the documentary Keep Quiet and Forgive, which premieres March 23rd on PBS. It tells the story of Hershberger and other Amish and Mennonite survivors as they navigate trauma, faith, and family ties. The film will also be screening in Iowa City.
Later in the episode, water quality is a huge challenge for the Midwest and the Great Plains, but there is a great deal of beauty to be found in the aquatic ecosystems that surround us. ISU professor Amy Burgin joins to share of the Great Plains' water wonders and what she calls "wicked problems."
Guests:
- Lizzie Hershberger, author, speaker, survivor-advocate
- Sarah McClure, journalist and filmmaker
- Amy Burgin, professor and chair of ecology, evolution, and organismal biology, Iowa State University
