Valerie Gilpeer and Emily Grodin, I HAVE BEEN BURIED UNDER YEARS OF DUST: A Memoir of Autism and Hope
Totally Booked with Zibby
Zibby Owens
4.5 • 644 Ratings
🗓️ 22 August 2025
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Zibby is joined by Valerie Gilpeer and Emily Grodin, co-authors of I HAVE BEEN BURIED UNDER YEARS OF DUST, an evocative and affecting memoir by a mother and her autistic daughter who’d long been unable to communicate—until a miraculous breakthrough revealed a young woman with a rich and creative interior life. Valerie shares the extraordinary moment with Emily, after 25 years of struggling to communicate, typed her first words—unlocking a lifetime of thoughts and poetry. Together, they discuss the power of alternative communication technologies and the impact of finally finding Emily’s voice.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, listeners. We have totally booked live coming up this fall, and I hope you'll be a part of it. |
| 0:06.0 | We have three events in New York City, September 19th, 25th, and 30th, in New York, where I'll be doing six interviews live each day. |
| 0:14.1 | We also have a petite retreat in Greenwich on October 4th. |
| 0:18.0 | Go to Zibbimedia.com and event or and or event bright and search the events |
| 0:23.7 | and please come. I can't wait to meet you in person. |
| 0:29.2 | Hi, this is Zibi Owens and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibi. |
| 0:34.6 | Formerly, moms don't have time to read books. In my daily show, I interview |
| 0:38.7 | today's latest, best-selling, buzziest, or underrated authors and story creators, whose work |
| 0:44.7 | I think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster, |
| 0:51.3 | I get a comprehensive look at everything that's coming out and spend my |
| 0:55.4 | time curating the best books so you don't have to. Stay in the know, get insider insights, |
| 1:00.8 | and connect with guests like I do every single day. For more information, go to zibbymedia.com |
| 1:07.1 | and follow me on Instagram at Zibby Owens. |
| 1:19.8 | Emily Groden and Valerie Gilpier are co-authors of I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust, |
| 1:21.9 | A Memoir of Autism and Hope. |
| 1:28.8 | Emily details the challenges she experienced as a nonverbal autistic child and how a miraculous breakthrough and her ability to communicate changed her life. A minimal speaker with autism who learned how to |
| 1:34.6 | communicate at the age of 25, Emily found her true voice in writing poetry. Her work has been |
| 1:40.4 | published in Salstice Literary Magazine and the White Rose Literary Magazine, |
| 1:44.6 | a publication of Pi Theta Kappa Honor Society. The same organization named her the first |
| 1:50.0 | recipient of its award of excellence in 2022 for her academic accomplishment and her poetry. |
| 1:55.8 | Emily advocates for herself and members of her community in an effort to misspell the |
| 2:00.4 | misconceptions and non-acceptance |
... |
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