Baker’s web of alumni stretches from coast to coast, including professional athletes, coaches, teachers, politicians, and business owners. Among these is Candice Millard, a New York Times best-selling author, with books including “River of the Gods,” “Hero of the Empire,” “The River of Doubt,” and “Destiny of the Republic,” the inspiration of Netflix’s limited series, “Death by Lightning.” While Candice spent her four years at Baker, she was in Alpha Chi Omega, and had a huge love for reading which sparked her ambition to write novels herself. The historical, nonfiction story of “Destiny of the Republic” follows the life of James Abram Garfield and his life leading up to his tragic death. Millard explains how this piece was most influential on her, for it taught her not only history and science but also stories of human nature.
Millard recalls when her writing career took off. She was working for a trade journal in Kansas City and got an opportunity to work for National Geographic in Washington D.C.; Millard describes National Geographic as her “dream job,” and the true start of her career as she knows it now. She spent most of her time as a copyeditor, but lunged at every opportunity to travel, research and write a story of her own.
This dream eventually led to the creation of her first novel, thanks to the suggestion of her husband he said, “you should write a book, which seemed terrifying and impossible to me,” Millard recalls.
Around the same time, Millard was talking to a friend who was reading a book about Theodore Roosevelt. Millard found the story of Roosevelt’s scientific journey down Brazil’s River of Doubt especially interesting, and the seed was planted. After years of tireless research, “The River of Doubt” was born, propelling Millard to a New York Times Best Selling Author.
Millard says she usually spends five to six years working on her books, with the majority of that time researching, traveling and revising her research.
Although there are a few times when the research hits a dead end, “Absolutely, there have been times when I’ve spent months, or even a year, working on an idea. And finally had to just admit that it’s not going to work.”
When the research does land, however, Millard is able to create an engaging story that intertwines the stories of many key characters. For example, in her second book, “Destiny of the Republic,” the story follows Chester Arthur, the vice president, after the assassination of President Garfield. Millard notes how Arthur led a life of leisure and actually opposed Garfield in many instances. Today, Arthur is known to have led an above-average presidency regarding the situation he was put into. Arthur turned his mentality around seemingly overnight to lead the country through a pivotal time. One person who played a crucial role was Julia Sands. A woman from New York who sent over 20 letters to Arthur, advising, judging, and praising the work he was doing. These letters proved to help Arthur a lot as he even travelled to visit her. It is these stories that add another layer of detail and make Candice Millard’s books stand out from the rest.
In November of 2025, Netflix released “Death by Lightning,” a historical drama based on Millard’s novel “Destiny of the Republic.“ The miniseries was split up into 4 episodes titled, “The Man From Ohio,” “Party Faithful,” “Casus Belli,” and finally “Destiny of the Republic.” The mini series received beyond positive reviews on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Letterboxd. Scriptwriter Mike Makowsky won the USC Scripter Award for “Best Adapted Screenplay – Television.”
Millard also praised Makowsky’s writing, “who’s so smart and so passionate.” Millard explains his use of Julia Sand’s letter to Arthur, “I thought that was such a great, just a genius move. And I think it’s really, really powerful in the series.”
Millard especially points to the fact that having the story in two different forms helps captivate the widest audience, “young people who maybe think history is boring, but they’re willing to watch a Netflix series.”
Millard’s experiences of storytelling through history have been the foundation for her lessons of leadership. In writing her novels, she learned the meaning of joy, pain, and adventure, and used this knowledge to take her readers back in time, creating a reading experience unique to a Millard novel.
