An Interview with Nadean Stone, Author of No Stone Unturned

Nadean Stone was born in Blind River Ontario, Canada, and graduated from Windsor University in 1973 with a BA and McMaster University in 1976 with an MBA. She obtained her Certificate in Journalism in 2002 and her Certificate in Legal Management in 2011.

In 2004, Nadean helped launch a weekday one-hour talk show on NBC Miramar as the show’s Booker and Celebrity Producer.

Nadean is a legal management consultant and author. She works as an advocate for children and adoptees, with an interest in public policy and legislation. In July 2018, she filed a petition with the UN Commission on the Rights of the Child, illuminating numerous Articles of the UN Convention that the Province of Ontario violated in its treatment of illegally adopted children.

Nadean spent forty-four years searching for her birth mother, challenging the current law in Ontario Canada regarding non-adoptees’ access to their birth records.

She is currently exploring the transformation of her memoir No Stone Unturned: A Remarkable Journey to Identity into a TV series.

She and her husband Bill divide their time between their home in Florida and their cottage in Vermont.

You can buy No Stone Unturned here.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

My story is more Hollywood than Hollywood—even more so, as it is true. It will grab the reader and take him/her on an unbelievable roller coaster ride. It is a gripping and emotionally uplifting narrative.

The story is about a mother’s love and her courageous fight for her son Andrew. Nadean and her husband, Juan, whose family is wealthy and are leading political figures, are locked in a nine-month-long custody battle on a Caribbean island. Nadean is a prisoner on the island, free only if she is willing to leave her son behind.

Juan kidnaps Andrew following Nadean’s wedding to her second husband, Bill, after which she becomes homeless and thus starts the agonizing custody battle against a powerful family. There are many highs and lows and much unbelievable action as Nadean plans their harrowing escape from the island, with Juan and his family in hot pursuit.

It contains all the elements for a TV series. Real-life drama, pain, suspense, romance, royalty, politics, and more. One reviewer in England wrote that “After reading Nadean’s story, I shall now look upon my life as a glass filled to the brim.”

Comparable TV series would be Yellowstone and the saga The Thorn Birds, which covered decades of the protagonist’s life.

I was inspired by the book A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell, a story of Virginia Hall, the American spy who changed the course of World War II. In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: “She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her.” The target in their sights was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill’s “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and—despite her prosthetic leg—helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it. Virginia established vast spy networks throughout France, called weapons and explosives down from the skies, and became a linchpin for the Resistance. Even as her face covered wanted posters and a bounty was placed on her head, Virginia refused order after order to evacuate. She finally escaped through a death-defying hike over the Pyrenees into Spain, her cover blown. But she plunged back in, adamant that she had more lives to save, and led a victorious guerilla campaign, liberating swathes of France from the Nazis after D-Day.

It is an astounding and inspiring story of heroism, spycraft, resistance, and personal triumph over shocking adversity, a breathtaking story of how one woman’s fierce persistence helped win the war.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I can spell backwards and tell you the number of letters in a word.

lanoisseforp – 12 for professional

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

After many weeks of deliberation, my copyeditor suggested the title. During deliberations, we concluded that Nadean is the sum total of her rich life experiences and the unyielding love and support over the years from her village of mothers and the many girlfriends who became her sisters in life. All the pain, loss, suffering, and happiness helped forge her identity.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

“Climb Every Mountain”

“Over The Rainbow”

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I wrote No Stone Unturned to inspire readers to find faith, hope, and the courage to persevere despite the odds. To continue to dream. To never ever give up.

Life is never perfect, but one can experience perfectly wonderful moments. Life can be hard, and we need to work through the challenges that are presented to us.

Continue to pursue your goals no matter how insurmountable they might seem, as dreams really do come true!

You might experience a miraculous outcome that you could never have envisioned. I was able to experience many perfectly wonderful moments and they were worth all the effort!

Readers seeking inspiration in the face of personal daunting challenges will come away from the experience motivated to find the courage to persevere.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

I am incredibly inspired by the 103 heartfelt reviews on Amazon, most of which are 5 stars with a few 4 stars.

One reviewer wrote: “If you’re not sobbing by page 155, you are not human. This is an extraordinary, beautiful story about a very brave woman, mother, journalist, friend, wife, lover. She is the kind of heroine women and men can be proud of. Persistence is omnipotent. And, Nadean, the real woman and Nadean, the protagonist, are full of the brilliance and courage a hero needs to conquer her dramatic need and to cope with the tragedy imposed upon her. If you need some courage and inspiration, this is your book. I couldn’t put it down.”

What new writing projects are you currently working on? Or, other projects that are not writing?

I am working on a series of children’s stories about my adventures on my grandmother’s farm, as well as a story about my much-loved Aunt Roberta. I am exploring the transformation of my memoir into a TV series. My book was selected by Taleflick, an LA production company, as a Taleflick Pick. Uri Singer, CEO at Taleflick, suggested that I contact actresses’ agents personally to pitch the story. He said it has huge potential.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.