Ahead of Her Time: The Trailblazing Life and Literary Legacy of Ann Head
Nancy Thode
Aug 2025 · Lantern Audio · Narrated by Nancy Thode and Brittany Wilkerson
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9 hr 51 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
Ann Head was a celebrated Southern author whose nuanced portrayals of women's lives captivated readers in the mid-20th century. Born in Beaufort, South Carolina, she drew deeply from her Lowcountry roots to craft compelling fiction that appeared in major national publications such as Redbook, Cosmopolitan, and Ladies' Home Journal. Her most famous work, Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones (1967), became a groundbreaking young adult novel and was adapted into a television movie. A woman ahead of her time, Ann Head tackled themes like teenage pregnancy, social class, and personal agency with empathy and authenticity. She also served as a mentor to the young Pat Conroy, encouraging his early writing and helping to shape his literary path. Nancy Thode's biography, Ahead of Her Time, illuminates Head's extraordinary life—a single mother, a determined writer, and a quiet feminist voice in an era of conformity. Her legacy endures through her work and the generations of writers she inspired. Appended to the biography are a never before published story and letters of Pat Conroy's as well as several examples of Ann Head's stories.
About the author
A native of Beaufort, South Carolina, Nancy Head Thode is a graduate of Ashley Hall School, Towson State University, and the University of Maryland School of Social Work. An early advocate for family mediation, she was a founding board member of the Academy of Family Mediators and continues her work today as a practicing family psychotherapist. Later in life, she discovered a passion for community theater, starring in several productions and writing and producing one-woman shows. A strong believer in the power of fellowship, she now chairs the Gatherings Committee at Christ Church Greenwich in Connecticut. In 2020, she established the Ann Head Literary Award for Short Story Fiction at Beaufort High School, where her mother, Ann Head, once taught and mentored a young Pat Conroy. The mother of two and grandmother of five, Nancy currently divides her time between Stamford, Connecticut, and Fripp Island, near Beaufort, South Carolina. This is her first book. To hear more about Nancy, see the podcast interview by Harmony Talks Host Lisa Champeau titled "Nancy Thode."
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