We chat with author Anne Broyles about Words Spoken True, which is an evocative, compelling account of the pain and hardships endured, as well as the love and courage summoned by the Cherokees on the Trail of Tears, is equal measures heartbreaking and hopeful.
Hi, Anne! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I grew up in the Arizona-Desert and as an adult I have also enjoyed living in California, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvannia and Massachusetts. I now live in a multi-generational family home in Portland, Oregon. I’m enrolled in Cherokee Nation but speak Spanish better than I speak Cherokee. I enjoy hiking, kayaking, cinema, literature, travel, vegan cooking and hanging out with family and friends.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
My fifth-grade teacher, Mr. George Willems gave us regular creative writing assignments with prompts like listening to Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Macabre” to spark a Halloween story. Or lying on the playground grass and looking at clouds to inspire us to write. I still have most of my work from that year, which shows what an influence Mr. Willems had on my creative life.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: THE BORROWERS was not the first book I read by myself but the first one that let me see how fiction could transport me to unknown worlds. I was fascinated by tiny people who lived in an English house and borrowed useful items from “human beans.”
- The one that made you want to become an author: After reading ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS I loved the idea that an author could learn something from history and then write a book to share what they had discovered.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: A FLOWER TRAVELED THROUGH MY BLOOD by Hayley Cohen Gilliland is perhaps the best piece of journalistic writing I have ever read. She uses personal stories to tell how mothers and grandmothers whose loved ones were “disappeared” during Argentina’s “dirty war” never stopped trying to find out the truth about their children and grandchildren.
Your latest novel, Words Spoken True, is out November 3rd! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Compelling, thought-provoking, unforgettable, heartbreaking, hopeful
What can readers expect?
I’ll let Publishers Weekly’s starred review summary explain: “It’s a triple-threat: an illuminating historical telling, a vulnerable portrait of adolescence, and a harrowing call to action against the country’s inhumane treatment of Indigenous people.” And by the way, Publishers Weekly named WORDS SPOKEN TRUE one of the best young adult books of 2026!
Where did the inspiration for Words Spoken True come from?
As a Cherokee citizen I searched for a real-life teenager who survived our 1838 Trail of Tears. When I discovered a letter 14-year-old Jane Bushyhead wrote to a White friend I found a heroine who was smart, spunky and aware of the realities her people faced when the Indian Removal Act forced them to leave their homelands in the southeastern United States and walk over 900 miles to an unknown “Indian Territory.” Because her father was a tribal leader I could trace the family’s journey so that even though I had to imagine Jane’s inner life I could stay true to the chronology and geography of her experience.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved doing the extensive research required for this novel, which I worked on for more than 35 years. It was a joy to figure out who these historical characters were so I could clothe them with personalities, joys, sorrows, strengths and weaknesses. I really love Jane and hope I was true to who she may have been.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
I wanted to tell this story in a way that captured the Cherokee’s strength and resilience as they endured enormous hardships on their forced march. I needed to dig deep into my characters to understand how they were able to survive when one out of four of the 16,000 Cherokees on the Trail of Tears perished. Not just survive physically but how did they find the inner fortitude to keep on keeping on under such oppressive circumstances? They lost their homes, businesses and way of life yet were able to reestablish the Cherokee Nation in present-day Oklahoma. Another challenge was to not write a downer book about oppression so I focused on Jane: her hopes and dreams, falling in love, dealing with pesky young siblings and challenging her father in typical adolescent rebellion all while living through extreme hardships.
What do you hope readers take away from Words Spoken True?
I hope readers will appreciate the courage and resilience it took for the Cherokee people
to endure and survive the Trail of Tears. The descendants of those ancestors live and thrive today both in northeastern Oklahoma where our tribal headquarters are and around the world. Most North American indigenous nations endured hardships and forced removal and yet are today strong and relevant in contemporary society and culture.
What’s next for you?
I’m co-writing a humorous middle grade series–quite a change from WORDS SPOKEN TRUE and all my previous books. I’m known for lyrical writing and comprehensive research so it’s been fun to write something silly that takes place in the present day.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up soon? Any you’ve got your eye on that are releasing in 2027?
I have ordered Louise Erdrich’s PYTHON’S KISS, Barbara Kingsolver’s PARTITA and Louise Penny’s MISS WOLCOTT’S GHOST. I appreciate each of these authors’ very different writing styles and always love to immerse myself in the worlds they create.
