In honor of Women’s History Month, we interviewed local author Jeri Fitzgerald Board.  Jeri grew up in a small town in Eastern North Carolina listening to family stories that formed the foundation of her first historical novel about women.  Published in 2006, The Bed She Was Born In opens during the last major battle of the Civil War in Bentonville, NC and examines the close relationships of five women--three black and two white--as they struggle with the aftermath of war, race, sex, class, and history.  As a child, Jeri admired the strong, independent women in her life and wanted to bring to light some of the stories they'd told about the women who'd gone before. Many of the scenes in The Bed She Was Born In are based on actual events that occurred in her family.  Nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, it was short-listed for the Southern Independent Booksellers Award for Fiction as well. The North Carolina Society of Historians named The Bed She Was Born In the year’s most significant contribution to North Carolina history and presented Jeri with their President’s Award.

For the next few years Jeri created programs based on The Bed She Was Born In and presented them at hundreds of book events, including several in Pinehurst.  She then began researching the memoirs and biographies of women from various Allied countries who had risked their lives working underground in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.  From the Wings: A Novel of Women at War, published in 2018, is a war story, a love story, and a story of duty and sacrifice made by women who were couriers, spies, nurses, nuns, farmers, and fighter pilots.  Jeri 's maternal grandmother, who was selected for membership in the first class of women in the US Navy, served as a code breaker during World War I.  She was a strong influence and role model for her granddaughter.  Jeri was invited to discuss From the Wings at the first “Evening with Authors” hosted by Given Memorial Library in February 2018, followed by a meet-and-greet and book signing for local fans. 

When she moves somewhere new, the local library is the first place Jeri goes. “What I love about Given Tufts is the history and that the library was dedicated to Irene Heinz Given by her daughter, Sarah.” Jeri utilizes the library often for researching information for her books and finds the Given Memorial Library staff to be welcoming and knowledgeable. “I absolutely love the Tufts Archives and would love to see more of what’s tucked away,” says Jeri. “I take everyone who comes to visit to the archives and they are always astounded.  I especially admire Audrey Moriarty, who has dedicated her career to making it a special place.”

Soon after her second book was completed, a fellow writer dared Jeri to step out of her comfort zone of writing historical fiction to tackle contemporary noir.  She reluctantly accepted the challenge and the result, Death Cake, was published in 2021.  Death Cake is a fictional work set in Atlanta about four twenty-somethings who are involved in the death of a woman. 

Jeri holds a PhD in Women's Leadership from UNC-Greensboro, and is a retired university marketing and development administrator and a former professor of African-American Studies and American Women Writers at Duke University and St. Andrews Presbyterian College.  She and her husband, Warren, reside in Pinehurst with their feline companion, Miss Mimi.  Her books can be found at Given Memorial Library and signed copies are available at The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines.