What Horror Teaches Us About Grief and Belonging—with Ryan La Sala

Podcast: Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators · Jeff Utecht & Tricia Friedman

Opublikowano: 2026-10-12

What can a horror novel teach us about friendship—and why might surviving together be its most hopeful message? Author Ryan La Sala joins Tricia Friedman to explore the queer horror of The Dead of Summer, where estranged childhood friends must decide whether they can hold onto one another when disaster strikes. Their conversation moves beyond the scares to examine representation, found family, grief, and the surprising relationship between terror and joy. Ryan explains why he writes queer characters whose lives extend beyond coming out, how each novel challenges his creative process, and what it me...