Laura's Ghost

In 1990, the groundbreaking television series Twin Peaks, cocreated by David Lynch and Mark Frost, opened with a murder mystery when a homecoming queen washed up on a rocky beach. Laura Palmer’s character began as a plot device that triggered a small town to face its fractured self. After three seasons and a film, Laura Palmer is no longer just a plot device. Twin Peaks allows the audience to get to know the victim—a complex woman finding her strength while enduring incredible trauma. Laura’s Ghost: Women Speak about Twin Peaks explores Laura’s legacy through the perspectives of women in the fan community and women involved in the show. Actor Sheryl Lee examines the challenges of playing Laura Palmer. Filmmaker Jennifer Lynch discusses writing Laura’s backstory in The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer. Grace Zabriskie argues about the complicity of Sarah Palmer, Laura’s mother. Sabrina S. Sutherland, executive producer of Twin Peaks, talks about Laura’s legacy. Women in the Twin Peaks fan community share their powerful and heart-wrenching stories of survival and what Laura Palmer means to them. This book is a reckoning in which women speak about trauma, mischief, humor, sexuality, strength, weakness, wickedness, and survival.

Author and award-winning journalist and sportswriter David Lee Morgan, Jr., teaches English and Creative Writing at Washington High School. When he accepted the job to coach the running backs just before the start of the 2019 season, he decided to chronicle every angle, every story, every emotion for this book. The Tigers finished the previous season 14-1, with a loss in the state championship game. The expectations were that Massillon would reach the title game again the following year. And with that, Morgan, having unprecedented access to the staff, players, and day-to-day operations, began to chronicle the season.