Podcast
Fresh Air
The book was highlighted by host Tanya Mosley during a discussion with the author, focusing on its portrayal of three teenage mothers in a Florida panhandle town who create a supportive community amid a post‑Roe reproductive climate. Mosley emphasized how the novel centers young parenthood against shifting abortion laws, noting its relevance and nuanced storytelling. The conversation presented the title as a timely and insightful exploration of motherhood in a changing political landscape.
Episode: Best Of: A 'Failed' Child Star / A Novel About Pre...
The novel follows three teenage mothers in the Florida Panhandle as they build a supportive community while navigating a postRoe reproductive landscape.
Her new novel, The Girls Who Grew Big, follows three young women navigating pregnancy in a postRoe v. Wade world.
Leila Motley, welcome to Fresh Air. ... Her new novel, The Girls Who Grew Big, centers on the lives of three young mothers in the Florida panhandle as they navigate what it means to be a mother today when reproductive rights are being rolled back across the country.
Your novel actually puts young mothers at the center, right in the middle of these conflicting realities.
Episode: Doula & Novelist Leila Mottley On The Nuance Of Yo...
The new novel follows three teenage mothers in a fictional Florida panhandle town, written in real time as abortion laws shifted, and centers young parenthood amid a changing political landscape.
Her new novel, The Girls Who Grew Big, is about a group of teenage mothers in a small town in the Florida panhandle who forge a community through their circumstances.
Leila Motley's new novel is called The Girls Who Grew Big.