Shawn Vestal

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A.K.A. Charles Abbott

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One Sunday afternoon in 1977, a Mormon family man gave his pregnant wife and six children some distressing news: He had broken the law, and would soon be arrested. Then he gave them even worse news: He was fleeing the country, and he wanted the family to follow. In the ensuing weeks – and then years – the family man’s façade unraveled, often in highly public ways. In this personal essay, Shawn Vestal explores how his father’s crimes crashed through the family, reverberating for decades. Sorting through mazes of memory and fact, Vestal goes searching for an ending to the story that began when he was 11 years old, holed up in a Canadian hotel room, while his father hid from the law.

OTHER WORKS

FICTION


Godforsaken Idaho
“A provocative and revelatory debut, filled with stories about losing faith and trying (often in vain) to find purpose, mainly set amid the sparsely populated Mormon country of the rugged Northwest.” –Kirkus Reviews
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NON FICTION



A.K.A. Charles Abbott
An essay sorting through the mazes of fact and memory surrounding the author's father and his criminal history. Read More

Interviews


Vestal "stunned" by literary prize
A story from The Spokesman-Review, following the announcement of the PEN/Bingham prize.

"Shawn Vestal's Memory Castles Made of Lego"
An interview with Melody Nixon at The Common.

The Vestal Version of Idaho
An interview in Interview magazine, with Royal Young.

"Vestal's Own Private Idaho"
An interview with Jim Kershner at The Spokesman-Review. Read More

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