Category: Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge market

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Newfound Siblings Finally Hug in Latest Episode of Tenured Cynic’s Hopeful Story

Author Jeremy White presents powerful first meeting on ‘The Little Girl Book Podcast’

Baton Rouge, LA — March 11, 2024 — Listeners of The Little Girl Book Podcast can now hear actual audio of author Jeremy White’s wife, Edie, first meeting her newfound baby brother at SEA-TAC International Airport, as recounted in chapter 15 of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery. Episode 15 (“Touchdown Seattle“) marries White’s narration of his memoir—detailing how the lifelong adoptee discovered her biological family in 2018 and the insanely beautiful, transformational journey that ensued—with a recording of the powerfully moving family reunion.

“After more than 47 years,” Jeremy describes the siblings finally embracing, “Edie had made physical first contact with her blood.”

A social media reel includes video of Edie’s first hug with her newfound younger brother, Justin Hart, of Renton, WA, moments after flying 2,500 miles from Baton Rouge in May 2018. It marked her initial meeting with anyone from her birth family. “After more than 47 years,” Jeremy describes the siblings finally embracing, “Edie had made physical first contact with her blood. Edie eventually relaxed her headlock, came down from her tippy toes, and faced her kin. ‘HI!!!’ she squealed through tears, prompting them both to giggle as they maintained eye contact, almost like they had taken a moment from dancing to admire each other at arm’s length.”

In lieu of a traditional audiobook, the tenured cynic is narrating his hopeful story in weekly episodes. Each one covers a chapter from White’s retelling of how Edie solved a mystery that had been plaguing a gangster-adjacent, Ukrainian American family for 65 years, but only after initially learning that her pacifist father is cited in two books for challenging David Duke with a bloody knife at LSU. Nearly a dozen chapters recount Jeremy and Edie traveling on COVID’s eve to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country to meet her far-flung new folks. The Little Girl Book Podcast is available for subscription on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, with new chapters arriving on Fridays.

White Lines Press published the ebook and 468-page hardcover editions of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, 2023. Signed editions are available at LittleGirlBook.com and through partnered indie bookstores around the country. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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‘Southern Literary Review’ Publishes Glowing Take on Tenured Cynic’s Hopeful Story

Author Betsy Reeder adores The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture by Jeremy White

Baton Rouge, LA — February 19, 2024 — On February 13, Southern Literary Review published author Betsy Reeder’s glowing take on Jeremy White’s The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery. The novelist from Maryland couldn’t have written a more enthusiastic, heartfelt endorsement of White’s powerful memoir about his wife, Edie, discovering her biological family in early 2018 and the beautifully insane adventure that ensued. 

“Jeremy White takes readers into and through a labyrinth of relationship by providing almost-voyeuristic access to emails, text messages, phone calls, and in-person communications,” Reeder writes. “This he does with candor, humor, and meticulous attention to detail.”

“Any reader open to vicarious delight will find it in spades.”

After revealing how Jeremy and Edie travel on COVID’s eve to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country to meet her far-flung new folks, Reeder declares, “Any reader open to vicarious delight will find it in spades. The source of this delight, and what is most remarkable about the adventure, is not only Edie’s wide-open heart but the full-throttle enthusiasm with which she is received by a host of strangers, some of whom never knew she existed, others who hoped she did. In our age of cynicism and suspicion, the story reminds us of the innate human capacity to connect. It portrays entire families’ willingness to accept what was and embrace what is.”

“In our age of cynicism and suspicion, the story reminds us of the innate human capacity to connect.”

Jeremy White is a tenured cynic who penned this hopeful book. He founded South Louisiana’s premier satirical publication in 2004, eight years before relaunching the award-winning Red Shtick Magazine as its all-digital progeny, The Red Shtick. The passionate Cajun can often be heard on various popular radio shows as either a guest or a guest host. A longtime football official and Mardi Gras krewe captain, Jeremy earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at LSU, where he and Edie met. They’ve been happily married since 1992 and live in Baton Rouge with their cat, Waffles.

Betsy Reeder is the author of a historical trilogy: Madam’s Creek (2017), Broomstraw Ridge (2019), and Salt in Boiling Water (2021), all centering around the lives and loves of characters caught up in vivid events of the Civil War and its aftermath. Another historical novel of the nineteenth century, Tupper’s Coins, made its debut in 2023.

White Lines Press published the ebook and 468-page hardcover editions of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, 2023, before launching The Little Girl Book Podcast on December 1 in lieu of an audiobook. Signed editions are available at LittleGirlBook.com and through partnered indie bookstores around the country. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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Tenured Cynic Stuns News Anchors on Live TV With Hopeful Story

Jeremy White wows WAFB’s morning hosts with The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture

Baton Rouge, LA — February 14, 2024 — In his first live TV appearance since publishing The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery, author Jeremy White visibly stuns anchors Liz Koh and Matt Williams on WAFB9 News at 9 with details from the powerful story about his wife, Edie, discovering her biological family in early 2018 and the beautifully insane adventure that ensued. Nearly a dozen chapters recount Jeremy and Edie traveling on COVID’s eve to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country to meet her far-flung new folks.

In the live segment aired on Thursday, February 8, Koh and Williams are physically taken aback as White retells how Edie was “sucker punched at work by Ancestry’s iPhone app with news that ‘John Hart is your father’ at 10:45 on a Tuesday morning. Good luck getting anything else done that day,” the author remarks. “Well, turns out, John Hart is going to have some books written about him. In fact,” White continues, “he is cited in two books about David Duke because of an incident that happened in 1969 at Free Speech Alley at LSU, involving a bloody knife.”

“I’ve got chills.” — Liz Koh

When White explains how Edie ultimately solves a mystery that had been plaguing a gangster-adjacent, Ukrainian American family near Chicago for 65 years, Koh reveals, “I’ve got chills.” Moments later, a floored Williams insists, “It’s like a movie, like a bunch of movies!” Koh agrees and tells viewers, “Well, if someone’s listening out there and thinking, ‘OK, I need to get the screenplay going,’ we know the guy to talk to.”

“It’s like a movie, like a bunch of movies!” — Matt Williams

Jeremy White is a tenured cynic who penned this hopeful book. He founded South Louisiana’s premier satirical publication in 2004, eight years before relaunching the award-winning Red Shtick Magazine as its all-digital progeny, The Red Shtick. The passionate Cajun can often be heard on various popular radio shows as either a guest or a guest host. A longtime football official and Mardi Gras krewe captain, Jeremy earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at LSU, where he and Edie met. They’ve been happily married since 1992 and live in Baton Rouge with their cat, Waffles.

White Lines Press published the ebook and 468-page hardcover editions of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, 2023, before launching The Little Girl Book Podcast on December 1 in lieu of an audiobook. Signed editions are available at LittleGirlBook.com and through partnered indie bookstores around the country. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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David Duke, Bloody Knife Feature in Next Episode of Tenured Cynic’s Hopeful Podcast

Chapter 11 of ‘The Little Girl Book Podcast’ named for BRPD narc impeached at LSU

Baton Rouge, LA — February 5, 2024 — An incident at LSU involving a bloody knife and a future KKK grand wizard makes literal headlines in the next installment of author Jeremy White’s The Little Girl Book Podcast. Starting Friday, February 9, listeners can hear White narrate Chapter 11 of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery, White’s memoir detailing how his wife, Edie, discovered her biological family in 2018 and the insanely beautiful, transformational journey that ensued.

“Chapter 11’s namesake, Gus Tabony, was impeached as a member of LSU student government in 1974 for being employed by Baton Rouge Police as an undercover agent, and he haunts the nightmares of Edie’s birth father to this day.”

“This is where we learn how Edie’s pacifist father came to be cited in two books about David Duke by challenging the Nazi with a bloody knife at LSU’s Free Speech Alley,” White said of an incident depicted by his media center’s header image, as printed on the front page of The Daily Reveille in 1969. “Additionally, Chapter 11’s namesake, Gus Tabony, was impeached as a member of LSU student government in 1974 for being employed by Baton Rouge Police as an undercover agent, and he haunts the nightmares of Edie’s birth father to this day.”

White adds that he’s excited about the opportunity to share their “unicorn of a story about love and forgiveness that the world so desperately needs right now.” Citing his book’s preface, the author notes, “In an age characterized by sickening inhumanity, this work celebrates the best of our humanity. Transcending issues of genealogy, The Little Girl appeals to readers seeking empathy in a divided land, and authentic beauty in an increasingly ugly world.”

In lieu of a traditional audiobook, the tenured cynic is narrating his hopeful book in weekly episodes, each one covering a chapter from White’s retelling of how Edie solved a mystery that had been plaguing a gangster-adjacent, Ukrainian American family for 65 years. Nearly a dozen chapters recount Jeremy and Edie traveling on COVID’s eve to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country to meet her far-flung new folks. The Little Girl Book Podcast is available for subscription on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, with new chapters arriving on Fridays.

White Lines Press published the ebook and 468-page hardcover editions of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, 2023. Signed editions are available at LittleGirlBook.com and through partnered indie bookstores around the country, including Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs and Red Stick Reads in Baton Rouge. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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Tenured Cynic Narrates Hopeful Book in New Podcast

Author Jeremy White launches The Little Girl Book Podcast in lieu of audiobook

Baton Rouge, LA — January 2, 2024 — White Lines Press has launched The Little Girl Book Podcast in lieu of a traditional audiobook, allowing author Jeremy White to publicly share the story about his wife, Edie, discovering her biological family in 2018 and the insanely beautiful, transformational journey that ensued. The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery details how Edie White solved a mystery that had been plaguing a gangster-adjacent, Ukrainian American family for 65 years, but only after initially learning that her pacifist father is cited in two books for challenging David Duke with a bloody knife at LSU.

Listeners can now hear the tenured cynic narrate his hopeful memoir in weekly episodes, each one covering a chapter from the book. Nearly a dozen chapters recount Jeremy and Edie traveling on COVID’s eve to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country to meet her far-flung new folks.

Issues such as social and racial justice, police brutality, and institutionalized racism in the Deep South take center stage in many of those “crazy eight” chapters, the author says.

White explains in several early episodes how those chapters each represent a single 24-hour period, “like diary entries detailing the insanity unfolding in our lives.” Issues such as social and racial justice, police brutality, and institutionalized racism in the Deep South take center stage in many of those “crazy eight” chapters, the author says.

White adds that he’s excited about the opportunity to share their “unicorn of a story about love and forgiveness that the world so desperately needs right now.” Citing his book’s preface, the author notes, “In an age characterized by sickening inhumanity, this work celebrates the best of our humanity. Transcending issues of genealogy, The Little Girl appeals to readers seeking empathy in a divided land, and authentic beauty in an increasingly ugly world.”

The Little Girl Book Podcast is available for subscription on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, with new chapters arriving on Fridays.

White Lines Press published the ebook and 468-page hardcover editions of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, 2023. Signed editions are available at LittleGirlBook.com and through partnered indie bookstores around the country, including Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs and Red Stick Reads in Baton Rouge. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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‘The Little Girl Book Podcast’ Now Streaming Weekly Episodes From Tenured Cynic’s Hopeful Memoir

Author Jeremy White shares The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture with listeners

Baton Rouge, LA — December 4, 2023 — White Lines Press is now streaming The Little Girl Book Podcast, which features author Jeremy White sharing his new book about his wife discovering her biological family in 2018 and the insanely beautiful, transformational journey that ensued. The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery details how Edie White solved a mystery that had been plaguing a gangster-adjacent, Ukrainian American family for 65 years, but only after initially learning that her pacifist father is cited in two books for challenging David Duke with a bloody knife at LSU.

Listeners can now hear the tenured cynic narrate his hopeful memoir in weekly episodes, each one covering a chapter from the book. Nearly a dozen chapters recount Jeremy and Edie traveling on COVID’s eve to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country to meet her far-flung new folks.

The Little Girl Book Podcast is available for subscription on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, with new chapters arriving on Fridays.

Published on Friday, December 1, Episode 1 covers “CHAPTER 1: Three Suits—All Aces,” which opens with the author describing Edie seeing a picture of her biological father for the first time. After revealing to listeners how he walked away from two decades of satire and football officiating to focus on his first book, Jeremy explains why, when their story’s reluctant hero decided to lead this emotionally daunting adventure, he vowed to be by Edie’s side in what would become their beautiful journey.

The opening chapter then tells how the future Marine Corps officer candidate and Naval Reservist met at LSU in 1991. Listeners also learn about Edie’s adopted family, the O’Neals of Maringouin, Louisiana. Jeremy later notes the irreversibility of submitting one’s DNA—which Edie does solely for the benefit of an unknown woman—and the perils that accompany such a decision, before preparing listeners for “the greatest, most surreal, transformational experience of our lives.”

The Little Girl Book Podcast is available for subscription on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, with new chapters arriving on Fridays.

White Lines Press published the ebook and 468-page hardcover editions of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1. Signed editions are available at LittleGirlBook.com and through partnered indie bookstores around the country. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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‘The Little Girl Book Podcast’ Features Tenured Cynic’s Hopeful Memoir

Author Jeremy White shares The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture with listeners

Baton Rouge, LA — November 7, 2023 — In the latest White Lines Press publication, The Little Girl Book Podcast features author Jeremy White sharing his new book about his wife discovering her biological family in 2018 and the insanely beautiful, transformational journey that ensued. The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery details how Edie White solved a mystery that had been plaguing a gangster-adjacent, Ukrainian American family for 65 years, but only after initially learning that her pacifist father is cited in two books for challenging David Duke with a bloody knife at LSU.

“The Little Girl Book Podcast promises to deliver moving excerpts from our powerful story about healing, as well as personal insights from the book,” White says in the show’s 91-second trailer. “We’ll also offer peeks behind the scenes at our process of putting it all together.”

Listeners will hear the tenured cynic narrate his hopeful memoir in weekly episodes, each one covering a chapter from the book. Nearly a dozen chapters recount Jeremy and Edie traveling on COVID’s eve to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country to meet her far-flung new folks.

“The Little Girl Book Podcast promises to deliver moving excerpts from our powerful story about healing, as well as personal insights from the book,” White says in the show’s 91-second trailer. “We’ll also offer peeks behind the scenes at our process of putting it all together.”

The Little Girl Book Podcast is available for subscription on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Episode 1 arrives Friday, December 1, 2023.

White Lines Press published the ebook and 468-page hardcover editions of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1. Signed editions are available at LittleGirlBook.com and through partnered indie bookstores around the country. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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EBRPL’s Special Collections Lecture Series Presents ‘The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture’

Author and tenured cynic Jeremy White shares images depicted in hopeful book

Baton Rouge, LA — October 11, 2023 — The East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s Special Collections Department is hosting local author Jeremy White, who will present his new book about his wife discovering her biological family in 2018 and the insanely beautiful, transformational journey that ensued. The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery details how Edie White solved a 65-year-old mystery that plagued a Ukrainian American family, after initially learning her pacifist father is cited in two books for challenging David Duke with a bloody knife at LSU.

Personally signed copies will be available for purchase following the audio-visual presentation in the large meeting room where Jeremy once trained fellow high school football officials.

The tenured cynic will share many powerful and heartwarming images from this real-life family adventure at the EBRPL Main Branch (7711 Goodwood Blvd.) at 6 p.m. Wednesday, October 18, as part of the Special Collections Lecture Series. Personally signed copies will be available for purchase following the audio-visual presentation in the large meeting room where Jeremy once trained fellow high school football officials.

“For years, I used to break down game film to scores of officials in that room on a weekly basis,” White recalls. “Now, on that same screen, I get to show images from our beautiful journey, including videos of moving reunions. As much as I loved reffing for nearly two decades, sharing our unicorn of a story is proving to be way more fun and rewarding.”

Jeremy’s other upcoming events this month include the Louisiana Book Festival, where he’ll participate in a panel discussion about memoir, on Saturday, October 28, in downtown Baton Rouge. He and Edie also will be on Author’s Row at the Livingston Parish Book Festival on Saturday, October 21, in Livingston.

White Lines Press published the ebook and 468-page hardcover editions of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1. Signed editions are available at LittleGirlBook.com and through partnered indie bookstores around the country. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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Barnes & Noble, Bookstore Bar Host September Events Featuring Tenured Cynic’s Hopeful Book

Jeremy and Edie White atop Rattlesnake Ridge with the Cascades in the background

Author Jeremy White signing copies of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture

Baton Rouge, LA — August 31, 2023 —  A literary-themed bar and a mega retail bookseller are hosting September events in Baton Rouge featuring Jeremy White’s new book about his wife discovering her biological family in 2018 and the insanely beautiful, transformational journey that ensued. The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery details how Edie White solved a 65-year-old mystery that plagued a Ukrainian American family, after initially learning her pacifist father is cited in two books for challenging David Duke with a bloody knife at LSU.

The tenured cynic will be on hand to sign copies of his hopeful book at the Citiplace location of Barnes & Noble (2590 Citiplace Ct.) starting at noon on Saturday, September 9. Four days later, on Wednesday, September 13, The Bookstore Bar (10466 Airline Hwy.) is hosting a signing by White from 5 to 7 p.m.

“‘If I had bought a bookstore instead of a bar, y’all wouldn’t be hanging your underwear from the ceiling.'”

While most folks know Barnes & Noble as the nation’s largest bookstore chain, with over 600 stores across the country, The Bookstore Bar has been hosting book club meetings and serving cocktails with literary names since 2020. For decades before that, owner/operator Pamela Sandoz was the tour de force behind Slinky’s, “the last real dive bar at the storied LSU North Gates,” as White describes it in The Little Girl. A significant rent increase for the Chimes Street location forced her to shutter the place in 2018.

Sandoz says the idea for her new bar came from a running joke with customers and employees at her old one. “Whenever it got wild at Slinky’s, someone would inevitably say that my life would’ve been easier if I had just bought a bookstore,” Sandoz recalls. “I’d reply, ‘Well, if I had bought a bookstore instead of a bar, y’all wouldn’t be hanging your underwear from the ceiling.'”

White Lines Press published the ebook and 468-page hardcover edition of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1. Signed editions are available at LittleGirlBook.com and through partnered indie bookstores around the country. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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Tenured Cynic’s Hopeful Book Garners Early Press After July 1 Launch

State’s largest paper covers The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture in Sunday edition

Click for full-sized image of the July 20 edition of The Pointe Coupee Banner.

Baton Rouge, LA — July 31, 2023 — Multiple newspapers have dedicated many column inches to covering Jeremy White’s new memoir about his wife, Edie, finding her biological family in 2018 and the beautifully insane story that ensued. One day after the launch of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery, the July 2 edition of The Sunday Advocate included a report on the tenured cynic’s hopeful book.

More recently, Edie White’s hometown newspaper ran a full-page, full-color feature on her and the book in which she’s the hero. Kevin Fambrough’s in-depth coverage in the July 20 edition of The Pointe Coupee Banner features several photos, including some taken during a launch event at Cavalier House Books. That’s where Fambrough interviewed the 1988 valedictorian of Catholic High School-Pointe Coupee for his report.

Edie White’s hometown newspaper ran a full-page, full-color feature on her and the book in which she’s the hero.

Readers of The Little Girl learn how, literally overnight, the baby of Edie’s adopted family becomes the eldest sibling in a new, amazing family, fathered by a pacifist cited in two books for challenging David Duke at LSU with a bloody knife. During her pre-COVID travels with Jeremy to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country, Edie ultimately solves the last of three mysteries presented to her: What happened to the little girl at the bottom of the picture? It’s a question that plagued an enthusiastic horde of gangster-adjacent Ukrainian Americans for more than 65 years.

The Pointe Coupee Banner began operation in 1880 and has published without interruption during wartime eras and numerous natural disasters. Meanwhile, The Advocate is a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper with the largest circulation among all dailies in Louisiana.

White Lines Press published the 468-page hardcover edition of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1. Signed editions are available at LittleGirlBook.com and through partnered indie bookstores around the country, including Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs and Red Stick Reads in Baton Rouge. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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