Ep. 95: Cheryl Diamond (Author of Nowhere Girl) + Book Recommendations
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
Sarah Dickinson
4.9 • 732 Ratings
🗓️ 29 September 2021
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In Episode 95, Cheryl Diamond joins me to discuss what it was like to have been “born a ghost,” her outlaw life with her fugitive parents, on the run from Interpol and other government agencies, and what brought her to detail her tumultuous childhood in her latest memoir, Nowhere Girl.
This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
Highlights
- What prompted Cheryl’s decision to write this memoir now.
- How Cheryl weighed her fear for her own safety against the need to share her story.
- What delayed Cheryl starting therapy and where she is now in her healing journey.
- Cheryl talks about her time, along with her brother, as elite athletes training for the Junior Olympics while still on the run.
- Why Cheryl feels like she lost her 20s and the toll this has taken on her health and well-being.
- How her childhood was both a magical adventure and a chaotic and dark time.
- Cheryl discusses the fact-checking of her memoir and a scene that was almost cut from Nowhere Girl for legal reasons.
Cheryl’s Book Recommendations [34:35]
Two OLD Books She Loves
- The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org
[35:22]
- Papillon by Henri Charrière | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [37:11]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [40:02]
- Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [42:00]
One Book She DIDN’T LOVE
- Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [44:43]
One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About
- Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris (May 31, 2022) | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org
[46:18]
Last 5 Star Book(s) Cheryl Read
- Resilience by Boris Cyrulnik | Buy from Amazon
Other Books Mentioned
- Model by Cheryl Diamond [1:33]
- Naked Rome by Cheryl Diamond [1:38]
- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall [17:05]
- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah [17:15]
- Educated by Tara Westover [32:36]
- The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls [32:38]
- Chatter by Ethan Cross [36:49]
- The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd [41:13]
- Calypso by David Sedaris [47:04]
About Cheryl
By the age of nine she had lived in more than a dozen countries, on five continents, under six assumed identities. She was home-schooled by her parents who were evading Interpol and various other law enforcement agencies.
At sixteen, Cheryl was scouted by a modeling agency and arrived in New York City with nothing but $300, her cat, and a fair bit of life experience. Between shoots and castings, she began to write. Model: A Memoir, a behind the scenes account of her life as a young high fashion model, was published by Simon & Schuster five years later. The book was featured by the New York Times, the L.A. Times, Good Morning America, and Fox News Live.
Her second book, Naked Rome, tells the story of the Eternal City through the eyes of its most fascinating people, and was published in 2019.
Cheryl’s newest project, Nowhere Girl, the shocking true story of her outlaw childhood, hit shelves on June 2021. She currently lives in Rome and obeys the law — most of the time.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. I'm Sarah of the blog Sarah's Bookshelves. Each week I'm |
| 0:15.5 | talking with one bookish guest about two old books they love, two new books they love, one book they don't love, and one new |
| 0:22.7 | release they're excited about. We're going to get real, and sometimes a bit snarky, about all |
| 0:27.9 | things books. If you like the show, I'd really love your support. Spread the word to your |
| 0:32.9 | reader friends, subscribe to the show, rate and review it wherever you listen to podcasts. Let's get rolling. |
| 0:39.6 | It's been a while since I've had a memoirist on the show, and I am thrilled that one is joining me today. |
| 0:46.3 | Before the age of nine, Cheryl Diamond, the author of her memoir, Nowhere Girl, lived in more than a dozen countries on five continents under six assumed identities. |
| 0:57.1 | She was homeschooled by her parents who were evading Interpol and various other law enforcement |
| 1:01.6 | agencies. My first thought when I read this memoir was, truth really is stranger than fiction. |
| 1:08.2 | It's one of those stories that's so unbelievable it wouldn't have worked |
| 1:11.9 | as a fiction novel. She explores the complexities of having a family she loves, but many of whom |
| 1:17.8 | are causing her incredible harm, and of living a childhood that was both magical and also incredibly |
| 1:23.8 | dark and chaotic. Cheryl grew up on the run from Interpol, as I mentioned earlier. |
| 1:29.1 | She transitioned into high fashion modeling in New York, |
| 1:32.3 | and her first book, Model, a memoir, was published when she was 21. |
| 1:36.4 | Cheryl's second book, Naked Rome, reveals the most intriguing people in the |
| 1:40.2 | Eternal City and their hidden stories, and Nowhere Girl is her third book. |
| 1:45.2 | Cheryl can be found on Instagram at Cher Diamond, C-H-E-R, Diamond, like the Stone, and she is |
| 1:52.8 | currently living in Rome. |
| 1:54.2 | Welcome, Cheryl. |
| 1:55.2 | Thank you. |
| 1:55.9 | I'm excited to be here. |
... |
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