Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi

The fact that Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi’s successful career encompasses a broad spectrum of communication is particularly noteworthy given serious hearing disabilities she spent virtually her whole life overcoming.  From the age of five on, Emilie suffered from not only serious hearing impairment, but also a disorder limiting her ability to process the sounds she heard. 

Thanks to her dedicated mother and to her own resilient determination, Emily became, in turn, a voracious reader, prolific writer, contributing journalist to the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, The Atlantic magazine, and professor of communications at Elmhurst University. She has also published two powerful books, “Ugly Prey: An Innocent Woman and the Death Sentence That Scandalized Jazz Age Chicago,” and “This is Really War: The Incredible True Story of a Navy Nurse POW in the Occupied Philippines.” 

“This is Really War” inspired the concept of this podcast, to share the inspiring stories of everyday people whose lives are extraordinary.   Dr. Lucchesi’s book tells the largely “unspoken unsung” story of Dan and Martin Danner’s  mother as a Japanese prisoner of war in World War II.  Emilie’s own life story is also compelling, as is the story of what it took to write and publish her stunning work of nonfiction.