In honor of Mother’s Day, we decided to do our first two-part episode! Kate and Larkin will be doing a story swap, with Kate covering a good mom from history and Larkin covering a… not-so-good mom. Even though it’s not a traditional Now It’s Ruined, both episodes are deeply dark and depressing, so don’t worry: Mother’s Day will still be ruined.
In our first episode, Kate shares the incredible story of Sojourner Truth and her fight to free her son from slavery. Truth is famous for her participation in the abolitionist and women’s suffrage movements. But long before she was hanging out with the likes of Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, she bravely walked into a courthouse and asked a grand jury to help her get her son back from an illegal sale to Alabama. The case made legal history, which is why Kate (who’s technically still a lawyer) was so enthusiastic to nerd out about it.
Despite being our good mom story, it is still a rough one. We recommend having tissues nearby.
Look out for part two tomorrow, when we'll take our first foray into the world of true crime as Larkin tells us about Leonarda Cianciulli, the Soap Maker of Coreggio.
TW: Violence against children
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth
https://www.thesojournertruthproject.com/the-readings
https://freedomcenter.org/voice/henrietta-wood/
If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!
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