Texas Archives – The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture

March 11, 2024March 11, 2024

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

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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February 19, 2024February 19, 2024

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

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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February 14, 2024February 14, 2024

Tenured Cynic Stuns News Anchors on Live TV With Hopeful Story Set in Austin

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

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February 5, 2024February 5, 2024

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

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.

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January 2, 2024

Tenured Cynic Narrates Hopeful Book Set in Austin 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.

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

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December 4, 2023December 4, 2023

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

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.

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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November 7, 2023November 7, 2023

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

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 in Austin 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.

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July 31, 2023July 31, 2023

Tenured Cynic’s Hopeful Book Set in Austin 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 Austinite 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 in northwest Indiana 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. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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June 15, 2023June 15, 2023

WAFB airs anchor’s powerful interview with tenured cynic about hopeful book set in Austin

Jeremy White opens up in first interview as author of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture

Baton Rouge, LA — June 15, 2023 — Jeremy White, author of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture, opened up to award-winning anchor Greg Meriwether, who produced a TV news segment so compelling it evoked a laugh-inducing “I’m intrigued” from his co-anchor upon its conclusion. WAFB’s Elizabeth Vowell’s off-the-cuff remark on live TV drew a guffaw from Meriwether on Wednesday, June 7, during the CBS affiliate’s 6 p.m. newscast. The nearly five-minute video represents White’s first interview since penning the immersive account of his wife, Edie, discovering her biological family in 2018 and the beautifully insane adventure that ensued.

“He’s made a living making fun of things, putting the ‘sin’ in ‘cynic,'” Meriwether jokes in introducing White to viewers. “He wasn’t always a big believer in miracles. He says, though, it’s a miracle of sorts where his life is now.” Meriwether describes Jeremy as a former “part-time comic, part-time high school referee, full-time cynic” who “traded in all of that for the wonder of discovery, to write a book to try and answer a very simple—and yet terribly complicated—question: Who is the little girl at the bottom of this picture?”

“For 65 years, they’ve been living with this,” White says of the family pictured. “You’ve got all those other children sitting on the steps behind her. These are women in their eighties,” he notes, who “had never seen their little cousin since that picture was taken.”

Fighting back occasional tears, White explains that for “a very large, enthusiastic, Ukrainian American family,” the photo depicted on his debut book’s front cover “had to suffice as the lasting image” of his titular character. “For 65 years, they’ve been living with this,” White says of the family pictured. “You’ve got all those other children sitting on the steps behind her. These are women in their eighties,” he notes, who “had never seen their little cousin since that picture was taken.” In addressing his shy wife, Edie, and her initial reluctance to having her life being published for public consumption, White concludes, “Eventually, she’s realized this is really something that could really impact, in a positive way, a lot of people.”

Greg Meriwether is an EMMY and Edward R. Murrow award-winning anchor and reporter who has been at WAFB for nearly two decades. Meriwether anchors the CBS affiliate’s 5, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts and is WAFB’s managing editor. The Kentucky native came to WAFB after studying journalism and history at Western Kentucky University.

White Lines Press (an imprint of Red Stick Comedy, LLC) is publishing the 468-page hardcover edition of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, but readers can pre-order signed copies at LittleGirlBook.com, where 1 in 20 customers will win a signed “lagniappe” copy. Signed hardcover editions are also available through partnered indie bookstores across the country. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to media@redstickcomedy.com.

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June 12, 2023June 12, 2023

Tenured Cynic’s Upcoming Hopeful Book Set in Austin Hits No. 1 on Amazon

The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture tops new releases in adoption

Baton Rouge, LA — June 12, 2023 — Jeremy White’s The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery claimed the top spot on Amazon’s list of new releases in adoption weeks before the book’s official publication date of July 1. On Thursday, June 8, the hardcover edition from White Lines Press sat at No. 1 on the site’s list of new releases in the popular category, while the ebook edition also has been near the top.

In The Little Girl, White immersively details how his wife, Edie, discovered her biological family in 2018 and the insanely beautiful, transformational journey that ensued. Literally overnight, the baby of Edie’s adopted family becomes the eldest sibling in a new, amazing family, fathered by a pacifist Austinite 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.

“It truly warms my heart to know readers are lining up to experience a real-life unicorn of a story about healing that the world is begging to be added to the human narrative right now.”

“It’s wild to think that both the hardcover and digital versions of my first book—which don’t come out for weeks—are both top 10 new releases in adoption on Amazon,” White admits. “It’s an insanely beautiful story that we’ve largely held close to the vest for five years, and now we’re literally telling the world about it, so it’s mind-blowing to have such an overwhelming response before we’re even officially out the gate.” He adds, “It truly warms my heart to know readers are lining up to experience a real-life unicorn of a story about healing that the world is begging to be added to the human narrative right now.”

White Lines Press is publishing the 468-page hardcover edition of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, but readers can pre-order signed copies at LittleGirlBook.com, where 1 in 20 customers will win a signed “lagniappe” copy. Signed hardcover editions also are available 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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