SpeakEasy

Grad student Ronni Long wants the past to come alive, but her centenarian source Julia doubts all the adventures of her long life should be revisited. Aren’t some things better left buried? Veronica “Ronni” Long is a cultural anthropologist. Almost. She’s all-but-dissertation for her doctorate at KU and she’s in Topeka to do fieldwork. In a colossal stroke of luck, she has discovered a primary source better than any she could imagine: a woman who lived through Kansas’ Prohibition era and remembers it vividly. Who better to interview regarding the cultural history of women and alcohol in the state? Ronni is on the path to academic immortality and nothing is going to stop her! After 108 years of living life, what remains in your memory and your heart? Julia Stanford has achieved this rare longevity milestone, having survived the Depression and both World Wars before she turned forty. When Ronni mines the riches of Julia’s mind and heart, just what will she unearth? At first, Ronni can’t see many similarities between herself and the older woman, despite the fact that both worked in bars to pay the rent while balancing complicated romances and pursuing their dreams. Are Julia’s stories truly extraordinary, or will Ronni discover a past that mirrors the struggles of her own modern life? As Ronni digs deeper to reach her goal, Julia seems to be hiding something about the past…