1 minute read

Singing Out Loud Memoir

A Memoir of an Ex-Mardi Gras Queen

On this episode of Big Blend Radio, writer and author Marilee Eaves discusses her new memoir, “Singing Out Loud.” Listen to the podcast here in the YouTube player, or download/listen to it on Spreaker.com .

Born during World War II, Marilee Eaves grew up in the elite world of Uptown New Orleans, a world of Mardi Gras parades and exclusive balls. As a student at Wellesley, she was hospitalized at McLean psychiatric hospital, where she begins to realize how much of herself she’s sacrificed to blend into and be fully accepted by the exclusive and exclusionary white Uptown New Orleans culture to which she supposedly belongs. In “Singing Out Loud,” Eaves tells of her journey to stand on her own two feet—to find a way to be grounded and evolved in the midst of that culture. Along the way, she wrestles with bipolar disorder, alcoholism, and the effects of her bad (heartbreaking, and sometimes hilarious) choices. Raw and funny, this book offers hope and encouragement to those willing to be vulnerable, address their issues, and laugh at themselves in order to embrace who they truly are. More at www.MarileeEaves.com

Eaves spent nearly five decades of her life struggling to be herself in the midst of the elitist Mardi Gras societies that ruled her home city. Finally, in her fifties and sixties, she expanded her perspective, started questioning assumptions about the way she’d grown up, and carved her own path.

Catch our Quality of Life podcasts covering Health & Wellness, Family & Relationships, Education, and more! Listen / Download on Spreaker.com