Alex's work has centered around oral history projects as a result of having lived in the Ozarks and worked as a reporter in various settings. He could see that often his feature stories could be the only record a family might have of special members. This naturally led to an interest in oral history, which developed as an academic discipline after the 1960s.
In part because of this work, he's grown to appreciate cultural life in the Ozarks. It’s a varied region that is slow to change. People tend to have a great appreciation of the environment and especially the wildlife. Recreation is an important part of life here, which makes for much joy. As a result of his work he wrote about a family in St. James who fostered 30 special needs children. When his wife and he were not able to have children, they took in several foster daughters, some of whom are still part of their lives in various ways.
