Michael Frank, "The Mighty Franks"

Growing up in Laurel Canyon, Frank was all but adopted by his glamorous, childless aunt and uncle. Harriet “Hank” Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch were the successful screenwriting team behind films including The Long, Hot Summer, HUD, and Norma Rae, but having them for surrogate parents wasn’t the dream life it might seem. Frank’s insightful memoir recounts his shock as his aunt, who’d been a loving mentor, guiding the boy’s interests in art and culture, became possessive and angry, at last driving Frank away. Now a journalist, fiction writer, and former Los Angeles Times book critic, Frank looks back and sees his aunt in ways his younger, frightened self could not. Frank is in conversation with Sarah Boxer, a contributing writer at The Atlantic and author of In the Floyd Archives.

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Produced by Tom Warren