Podcast Summary

New Books Network

Episode: Susan Gregg Gilmore, "The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush" (Blair, 2025)
Host: Holly Gattery
Date: September 13, 2025
Guest: Susan Gregg Gilmore

Episode Overview

This episode features a conversation between host Holly Gattery and author Susan Gregg Gilmore about Gilmore’s latest novel, The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush. The discussion delves into the novel’s inspiration, characters, major themes, and the intricate balance of grace, loss, and recovery within a small East Tennessee town. Gilmore reveals the real-life gravestone that sparked the story and offers insight into her authentic, character-driven storytelling, with additional reflections on writing process and setting as character.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Origin of the Story

• Inspiration: Gilmore was inspired by a tombstone at Lincoln Memorial University that read “Leonard Bush’s leg, 1923,” which she encountered while teaching at a summer writing camp in Appalachia.

  “One of the tombstones there said Leonard Bush's leg, 1923. I thought this was amazing… I could not shake him. And that tombstone, that's what started it all.”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 04:19)

• Real History & Fiction: The real Leonard Bush lost his leg at 12 due to a barbed-wire injury; Gilmore fictionalized it as a bottle cap wound, capturing the everyday dangers of rural life.

  “His body is actually buried on the other side of the highway.”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 05:50)

Character Development

• Leonard Bush:
  A 12-year-old boy whose leg amputation and subsequent burial set off miraculous and transformative events for the town.

• June Bush (Leonard's Mother):
  An anxious, superstitious, God-fearing woman struggling to parent through personal trauma and societal expectations.

  “She is a very anxious, apprehensive, God-fearing mother… convinced that bad things come in threes.”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 08:27)

• Emmett Bush (Leonard's Father):
  Stoic dairy farmer, coping with his own history of loss and expressing deep pain through subtle, moving actions.

  “He wants his skin… to rub up against the same leather that used to hold Leonard's foot.”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 19:12)

• Rose (Azalea's Mother):
  The town’s sex worker, depicted with great sensitivity and realism.

  “She was in the position that she was in... because people, so often the case, had failed her…her sweet little 12-year-old daughter Azalea really becomes the mother.”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 11:15)

• Azalea:
  Daughter of Rose, isolated due to her family’s circumstances, forms a supportive bond with Leonard.

  “Azalea has a little bit hard time believing that [friendship] could be true for her. But they do seem to have a bond that does not break and she ends up really supporting Leonard.”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 22:22)

Major Themes

• Grace, Judgement, and Community:
  The novel is described as an extended meditation on grace—what it means to extend or withhold it, especially in small, interconnected communities.

  “I feel like grace is so often a topic that I think about and why we withhold it sometimes, why we give it to others, how... we’re all due.”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 13:50)

• Loss, Resilience, and Healing:
  Each character confronts personal and communal loss; the act of Leonard’s leg burial becomes a symbol for the wider rituals of healing that ripple through the town.

• Agency and Ritual:
  Townsfolk begin approaching Leonard to bury symbolic objects alongside his amputated leg, seeking absolution and fresh starts, leading to questions of responsibility and the limits of forgiveness.

  “People in town start looking at this kid… and start coming to him with their trinkets of guilt and woe and shame and ask Leonard to bury them in the same cemetery…”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 22:41)

Narrative Craft & Setting

• Setting as Character:
  The book’s sense of place in East Tennessee is deeply immersive, rendered as a living, breathing character within the story.

  “You walk the land for one thing. If you're going to write about the land, I think you got to walk it. And I know that land well. I live in East Tennessee. I grew up in middle Tennessee…to me, it is character.”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 29:45)

• Writing Process:
  Gilmore emphasizes the organic development of story and character, rooted in close observation of people and the places they inhabit.

  “I loved writing every sentence of this novel, but writing those scenes where someone new would come to the hilltop and need Leonard's help, those were the most fun.”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 26:55)

• YA Crossover Appeal:
  Despite not being marketed as YA, the book resonates with younger readers due to its exploration of adolescent isolation and friendship.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Novel’s Themes of Grace:

  “It felt like a meditation on grace. The grace we give each other, the grace we withhold from each other. And why do we withhold that grace from each other?”
  (Holly Gattery, 12:45)

• On the Opening Page:

  [Reading from Leonard's perspective:]
  “In the beginning, Leonard wasn't thinking about God or other high-minded things… For now, Leonard was certain of only one thing. His leg needed a proper goodbye, one that came with the preacher prayers and a bit of hymn singing…”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, reading at 14:15)

• On Character Bonds:

  “Leonard is very sweet on this girl and... is not going to give up. He is going to be her friend forever and ever...”
  (Susan Gregg Gilmore, 22:10)

• On Setting:

  “The land, and the scenes and the settings and the water and the trees and the crack of branches or twigs... did not feel like something that was purposely put in the book. It just felt like a natural extension of one's body and one's experience. And it was really beautifully done.”
  (Holly Gattery, 30:55)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction to the Book & Author: 01:29–02:20
• Origin of Leonard Bush Character: 03:41–05:00
• Research on Real Leonard Bush: 05:00–06:19
• Development of June’s Character: 07:40–09:43
• Portrayal of Rose & Discussion on Grace: 09:43–13:57
• Book Opening Read Aloud: 13:57–15:41
• Exploring Emmett’s Character: 17:29–20:00
• Azalea and Leonard’s Bond: 20:00–23:33
• Leonard’s “Curious Calling”: 23:33–27:27
• Setting as Character & Writing Process: 27:27–32:49
• What’s Next for the Author: 32:55–33:52

Episode Tone & Style

The conversation is warm, reflective, and richly insightful, with both interviewer and guest engaging in thoughtful, often personal discussions about the novel’s genesis and emotional landscape. Holly’s invested enthusiasm and Susan’s storytelling warmth establish an inviting, comfortable tone throughout.

Further Insights

• Upcoming Work: Gilmore is currently working on a sequel to her first novel, promising returning readers a revisitation of beloved characters with the benefit of the author’s growth over the years.

This episode is recommended for those interested in contemporary Southern fiction, stories of small-town life, and novels that blend heart, philosophy, and character-driven storytelling.