Windfall

November 21, 2022
In this powerful debut, journalist Bolstad investigates a century-old family mystery involving the disappearance of her great-grandmother. All Bolstad knew about Anna Josephine Sletvold, a Norwegian woman who settled in the prairies of North Dakota, was that she disappeared from her homestead in 1907. In 2009, after Bolstad’s mother received a surprise check from an oil company that leased land near where Anna once lived, Bolstad started researching Anna’s life. What she learned is that Anna filed a homestead claim in the fall of 1905. Less than two years later, a judge declared Anna insane after a doctor diagnosed her with what is now known as postpartum depression, and she was committed to an asylum, where she remained until her death in 1921. Along the way, Bolstad chronicles North Dakota’s history of “boom and bust cycles,” details how the Homestead Act of 1862 allowed the federal government to displace Indigenous peoples so that millions of settlers could claim a “new start,” and indicts the oil industry for its reliance on such disputed practices as fracking and flaring. Bolstad approaches Anna’s story with empathy, and she lucidly explains the impact of oil and gas extraction on the communities that depend on it economically. In unraveling a family mystery, Bolstad tells a much larger, richer story.

June 10, 2024

Journalist and documentary filmmaker Bolstad's debut covers much ground, from memoir, political and economic history, to environmental concerns. Prompted by the discovery that her family owned mineral rights in North Dakota, Bolstad researches her great-grandmother Anna Josephine Sletvold, who homesteaded in North Dakota but mysteriously disappeared in 1907. Bolstad's investigation reveals a mother's love for her children and the legacy that she leaves after she's gone. Amid devastating discoveries about her family and troubling revelations about the oil industry's impact on the land, Bolstad emphasizes the strength and resilience of the people--past and present--she encounters on her quest for answers. Narrator Marni Penning's pacing, tone, and inflection enhance the text, evocatively giving voice to the heartbreak and sorrow that Bolstad's family endured. Although some readers may be more drawn to Bolstad's story than to her exposition of the oil industry, this audio provides listeners with much food for thought. VERDICT Share with listeners interested in history, climate change, feminism, and narrative nonfiction. The intriguing plot, homesteading history, and insights into climate change make this a winner.--Tatyana Nelsen

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