Thread Book Hour: Carter Meland and Terese Mailhot

Today on MPR News Presents it's the Thread Book Hour with a duo of Native American authors.

Local author Carter Meland speaks with MPR's Euan Kerr about his latest book, "Stories for a Lost Child." It's a playful novel that ping-pongs between stories of outer space, Big Foot and family folklore. It even reimagines NASA as an organization for Native American Space Adventuring.

Although, Meland's characters are exploring a fictional unknown, their struggle to understand the mysteries of their own language and identities is partially rooted in Meland's own lived experience. His book was partially inspired by his own experience finding out about his Anishinabe heritage.

But first, you'll hear an all too real tale of coming of age, abuse and mental illness from Terese Mailhot. She spoke with MPR's Kerri Miller about why she chose to share her heart-wrenching coming of age story with the world, and how she managed to share those details without "bleeding out on the page."

To listen to the conversations, click the audio player above.