In this episode, Jim Foster shares his thoughts on the publishing scandal surrounding James Frey's memoir "A Million Little Pieces" and why a memoir by Heather King entitled "Parched" is more meaningful surrounding the subject of alcoholism and addiction, especially considering the fact that many things written as personal experiences in Frey's memoir were later found to be exaggerated or completely false.  Book stores later recategorised Frey's memoir as fiction instead of non-fiction.  This discussion took place on a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.  Photo Credit: Robert Costa

Frey & King: A Million Little Pieces & Parched

In "And the Dark Sacred Night," author Julia Glass writes a novel about a man's quest to find his biological father and what he discovered along the journey about himself and the world.  This discussion took place on a 2014 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.  Photo: Robert Costa.

Glass: And the Dark Sacred Night

In "Her Wild Oats," the late author Kathi Kamen Goldmark writes a novel about two people at very different points in their lives who develop an unlikely friendship, a thirteen-year-old boy who plays the harmonica, and a young woman who recently discovered her husband was having an affair.  In this discussion, the late author's husband Sam Barry talks about her life and how they completed the book after her passing.  This conversation took place on a 2015 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.  Photo: Chronicle / Eric Luse

Goldmark: Her Wild Oats

In "Dorchester Terrace: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel," the late author Anne Perry writes the next novel in a series in which Thomas Pitt is now the head of Britain's Special Branch, and follows the story of him and his wife trying to get information from two women in order to prevent an international catastrophe.  This conversation took place on a 2012 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.  Photo: anneperry.us

Perry: Dorchester Terrace: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel

In "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions," author Sister Helen Prejean talks about her first-hand experiences witnessing the execution of Dobie Gillis Williams in 1999 and Joseph Roger O'Dell in 1997, how poor people are primarily affected by wrongful executions, and why the execution of Michael Morales was postponed indefinitely in 2006 and led to a moratorium on capital punishment in California.  This third discussion with the author took place on a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.  Photo: sisterhelen.org

Prejean: The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions

In "Perfidia," author James Ellroy writes a historical novel and the first volume of his second L.A. Quartet series, set in Los Angeles in 1941 that follows the story of several very different people who come together to investigate the murder of a Japanese family as America is at the brink of World War II.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2014 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.  Photo: jamesellroy.net

Ellroy: Perfidia

In "The Whole World Over," author Julia Glass writes a novel about all the little accidents in life that come together to determine our choices in love and connections to others in the world.  This second discussion about the book took place on a 2007 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.  Photo: Robert Costa.

Glass: The Whole World Over 2007

On this special episode, host and producer Jim Foster speaks with technical producer Robert Costa about how "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" became a long-running program airing on various radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area for several decades, and also speaks about how the book publishing world has changed over the years, where the industry is going next, and many other subjects including his favorite author guest, plus a cameo by Executive Board Member Julie!  This discussion took place on the occasion of the last airing of the program on its longtime San Francisco radio frequency 960 AM in 2014, in San Francisco, California.  Photo: Robert Costa.

Foster: Last Episode on 960 AM in San Francisco

Dr. Joan A. Friedman, psychotherapist, twin, and author of "The Same but Different: How Twins Can Live, Love, and Learn to Be Individuals," talks about how it is possible that love and resentment can happen at the same time between twins.  The full interview from a 2015 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: joanafriedmanphd.com.   

The Same but Different by Dr. Joan A. Friedman

Alan Furst, author of "Dark Voyage," talks about what it meant for those aboard a Dutch ship who suddenly found themselves aboard a "tramp freighter" when it was taken over by Britain on the eve of World War 2.  The full interview from a 2004 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.

Dark Voyage by Alan Furst

Nora Gallagher, author of "Changing Light," talks about her love of New Mexico and the wide variety of cultures who lived in Los Alamos during the creation of the first atomic bomb.  The full interview from a 2007 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: noragallagher.org.

Changing Light by Nora Gallagher

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia," talks about the importance of pleasure and devotion in life and the need for a steady balance to keep them strong.  The full interview from a 2007 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: elizabethgilbert.com.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Carol Gilligan, psychologist and author of the novel "Kyra," talks about how the main character in the novel redefines the 'structure' in her therapy in order to get to the real truth behind events in her life.  The full interview from a 2008 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.

Kyra by Carol Gilligan

Julia Glass, author of "And the Dark Sacred Night," reads an excerpt from the novel that gives context from the perspective of the main character's single teenage mother as he tries later in life to search for the identity of his biological father.  The full interview from a 2014 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.

And the Dark Sacred Night by Julia Glass

Authors from around the world discuss their book with host Jim Foster. "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" aired for over two decades on radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jim Foster: Conversations On The Coast

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