Stories
More than 50 different national, regional, and local publications have published my stories during my career as a journalist, including the Atlantic, The Atavist, ProPublica, the New York Times, Time, and the Washington Post. I'm most proud of the ones below.
Revive
A fatal overdose, a stunning coincidence, and a mother’s long quest to heal.
Read the full story at The Atavist.
The Fire and Everything After
The I-85 fire could have destroyed Basil Eleby’s life. Instead, it may have saved it.
Read the full story at Atlanta Magazine.
The Redemptive Love of Chiliquila Ogletree
At the top of Atlanta’s Sunset Avenue, the street once home to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., you’ll find the home of U.S. Army veteran Chiliquila Ogletree. English Avenue, her neighborhood as a child, seemed full of unprecedented possibility. But the forces of poverty, crime, and drugs slowly eroded the hopes she had for her four children. She's now raising six grandchildren aged 10 and under. This is the story of her second act of parenthood.
Read the full story at the Bitter Southerner.
A 41-day fight to get treatment ends in a daughter's overdose
Taylor Wilson was the first to overdose when spiked heroin ravaged her town. Her parents tried for 41 days to get her treatment. Then she overdosed again.
Read the full story at STAT.
After The Storm
Pecan farmers thrived for a century. After Hurricane Michael, they’re unsure if they’ll survive another generation.
Read the full story at Atlanta magazine.
Lightning, Struck
How an Atlanta Neighborhood Died on the Altar of Super Bowl Dreams
Read the full story at the Bitter Southerner.
Jason Molina’s Long Dark Blues
The Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. front man produced a prodigious catalog of stark and heartbreaking music. Then he disappeared.
Read the full story at the Chicago Reader.
Can Hollywood Change Georgia? Or Has It Already?
The Georgia Film Tax Credit brings hundreds of productions—and billions of dollars—to the state each year. But this past spring, a new anti-abortion law inspired a number of protests, and major Hollywood studios threatened to move their filming elsewhere. Will a boycott happen? Would it have any political effect? And what would it mean for the people who live and work in Georgia?
Read the full story at The Ringer.
The sad and beautiful world of Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous
Five years after the death of Sparklehorse leader Mark Linkous, I talked with many of the idiosyncratic songwriter's closest friends and collaborators, shedding light on an artist who compelled listeners to heed the beauty of darkness.
Read the full story at Pitchfork.
How Jim White Helped His Bluebird Spread Her Wings
An outsider artist’s odyssey to the center of his daughter’s life.
Read the full story at The Sunday Long Read.
