Dave Davies

What became of the Pell Grants?

You know, I want to just note for readers that there's so much in this book.

You talk to a lot of people.

I mean, academics and policy experts, to be sure, but friends, family, business people, community leaders, a lot of them, including one person who was the county school attendance officer, I guess what we used to call the truant officer.

You wrote along with her.

Brooke Perry was her name.

And through her, you could see some of the dysfunctional

in the lives of a lot of families and the kids that live there.

You want to just share some of what you observed there?

What did she mean by that, teach them how to human?

We need to take another break here.

Let me reintroduce you.

We are speaking with Beth Macy.

Her new book is Paper Girl, a memoir of home and family in a fractured America.

She'll be back to talk more after this short break.

I'm Dave Davies, and this is Fresh Air.

You write about your siblings.

There are three.

You're the youngest of four.

All of them, I have to say, are quite interesting people to read about.