http://www.prx.org/pieces/9739

I have a lot of mixed emotions about this short piece. First up lets be clear about the fact that it?s a very important subject and a moving and important personal story.
A young girl brought up in Kentucky talks about her dilemma when she fell pregnant ? she?s in college and has a new not particularly happy marriage and knows the baby will foil her chances for a better future. But she fights with her husband who wants her to abort, saying she never will and then within the minute she?s describing her attempt at self abortion with a coat hanger.
How did she move from one point to another? What happens in the end? Does she keep her baby or not? Did she harm it when she tried to abort it? Why is there such a grey area about her life, marriage etc? This I feel is due to the narrator/producer. He has good instincts in selecting the story and persevering in his search for a personal point of view but I?m afraid the execution of it comes across as amateurish. His interruptions between the clips are just that ? interruptions rather than links between different points. The interview itself is done at a less than perfect quality and the edits spring out at you.
There?s a good story here ? both on a general as well as personal level. ?Ruby? has a story to tell that is of great interest, but she wasn?t guided in the right way. The interviewer needs to pin her down more to get that revealing anecdote or detail that will fill us in on her world ? it?s not enough for her to say that marriage wasn?t the same as dating. Hell who doesn?t know that? But if she said suddenly she?s alone every night with the dirty dishes, then we have an image in our heads. She talks well about her confusion about the baby ? but we need to know at the end how she resolves it and whether she?s come to terms with her decision.
This seems like a good first piece by a student who will make a good a good producer one day, but like Ruby, he needs more guidance.