Cleyvis Natera

Those brief and silly stories I told my dad had the power to collapse the thousands of miles between us, make me feel closer to him, find my way during uncertain times.

When I think about the books that have done the same things for me, made me feel closer to fictional characters and their circumstances, helped me to see the world in uncertain terms, many top the list of most banned books.

Here, I'm speaking about Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Toni Morrison's The Song of Solomon, and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

These books, among so many others, have moved me from a space of awe and contemplation toward inspiration, knowing that the writer's job is to inspire in our readers questions that may lead to a desire for lasting change.

What could be more dangerous to those who seek to silence us than the certainty that together we are a chorus, that together we could change the world?

We'll be back in a moment with another story.

Welcome back.

Toby Price told our next story at a Jackson, Mississippi main stage where the theme of the night was holding on and letting go.

Here's Toby, live at the Met.

That was Toby Price.

Toby is a children's book writer and a former teacher and elementary principal.

He is a father of three beautiful kids and has been married to his lovely wife, Leah, for 21 years.

He lives with his family in Mississippi.

His case is still ongoing and was heard by the Mississippi State Supreme Court on September 18th.

That brings us to the end of our episode.

Thanks so much for joining us.

From all of us here at The Moth, we hope that wherever you are, you're able to read and tell whatever stories you want.

Clavis Natera is a writer whose latest novel, The Grand Paloma Resort, is available wherever you get your books.

Toby Price's story was directed by Meg Bowles.

This episode of The Moth Podcast was produced by Sarah Austin-Janess, Sarah Jane Johnson, and me, Mark Sollinger.