From Third Grade Dream to Debut Novel at 52: Robert Gwaltney Jr.'s Journey

Every Soul Has A Story® with Robert Gwaltney. Dara Levan chats with Robert Gwaltney Jr. Author an advocate for early childhood literacy. Robert shared about his publishing journey, losing his sister at a young age, growing up as one of “four feral boys” in a small Georgia town, and balancing his writing life with a full-time job at Easter Seals of Atlanta. And we chatted about Robert’s stunning debut novel, “The Cicada Tree.”

This is our second conversation in three days. And the first ever Saturday morning EVERY SOUL HAS A STORY LIVE. We didn’t plan to chat twice. But the Universe had other plans.

A gracious, generous soul, Robert pivoted with me. Today’s connective conversation included laughter when my phone fell mid-recording! We decided our collective energy must just be that ebullient. 😂

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Some conversations are meant to be ephemeral—and for debut author Robert Gwaltney Jr., losing their first recorded interview became a beautiful lesson in impermanence. The bestselling author of The Cicada Tree joins Every Soul Has a Story for a Saturday brunch conversation about growing up a "peculiar boy" in Southwest Georgia, eavesdropping on Southern women from his childhood hallway, and finally publishing his debut novel at age 52 after always dreaming of being a writer.

A vice president at Easterseals who spent decades serving children and families, Robert shares how losing his sister to spina bifida at a young age shaped his life's work and his storytelling—and why his novel's 11-year-old female protagonist is a love letter to the Southern women who raised him. From the cruelty he endured as a queer kid in the 1980s to the liberating moment he found his authentic self at 23, Robert's journey reminds us that every soul has a story worth telling—even if some moments are only meant to exist in the ether.

0:03 - Intro and Saturday brunch
1:44 - Deathwish Coffee and rituals
4:24 - The lost interview and ephemera
6:54 - Ephemera and sacred moments
8:23 - Being an introverted Southerner
9:51 - Ambiverts and social spectrums
12:04 - Sister's passing and Easterseals
15:39 - Becoming a writer at 52
17:51 - Writing an 11-year-old girl's voice
19:35 - Looking for sisters through writing
20:41 - No greater truth than fiction
22:30 - Eavesdropping on Southern women
25:09 - Growing up with feral brothers
30:19 - Drum major and creative courage
34:06 - Gratitude for being peculiar
36:37 - Finding authenticity at 23
41:38 - Every day is a gift
43:08 - Final farewell

• https://www.instagram.com/dara.levan/
• Website: daralevan.com3
https://robertlgwaltney.com/

QUOTES:

"Writers, we are lurkers and we're eavesdroppers. We do feel comfortable on the branch, just watching the world."
– Robert Gwaltney Jr

"Every day is a gift. When people say 'I'm getting so old,' I say, 'Aren't you lucky?'"
– Dara Levan