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March 27, 2017 鈥� Many Georgetown professors have old war stories from 鈥渢he swamp,鈥� 鈥淭his Town,鈥� or whatever you prefer to call the Washington politics-media complex. Here鈥檚 one you might not have heard before.

From a small office in the New North building, jam-packed with books on all kinds of writing, has spent a quarter-century building up journalism education at Georgetown. She led the long crusade to develop a lonely English elective into an impressive investigate journalism project, a , and eventually an . For a certain, small segment of the student population, she鈥檚 as much a Georgetown institution as the John Carroll statue.

Feinman Todd released her memoir, , to widespread critical acclaim last month. The 320-page tome begins in her first few days as a 22-year-old in the Washington Post newsroom and tracks her fascinating career as a researcher for newspaper legends Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, and Ben Bradlee, her ghostwriting work for Hillary Rodham Clinton, her path to Georgetown, and the lessons she learned along the way.

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Pretend I鈥檓 Not Here has generated more media coverage than one might expect for a writer who moved to full-time teaching 15 years ago. That鈥檚 because it contains her first public comments in years about a mini-scandal from 1996 that briefly grabbed national headlines.

While shadowing Clinton in order to ghostwrite the 1996 bestseller , Feinman Todd observed a strange meeting between the First Lady and a 鈥渘ew age healer,鈥� later recounting it to Woodward off-the-record. She traveled to Europe after finishing her work on the Clinton book; upon returning, she discovered that the Clinton team had frozen her out of acknowledgments and tried to renege on her final payment.

Mystified at first, Feinman Todd soon discovered that Woodward had used a sensationalized version of her private disclosure to him in his book about the Clinton White House 鈥� a violation of journalistic practice for what she claims was a wholly off-the-record conversation. Soon, a version of Clinton鈥檚 meeting would appear in a book excerpt in the Post. While Woodward didn鈥檛 mention Feinman Todd, his former researcher knew it would not be hard for the Clinton team to peg her as the leak.

鈥淚t was obvious 鈥� everyone else in the room was on her team,鈥� Feinman Todd said. 鈥淪o a couple of reporters connected the dots.鈥�

Pretend I鈥檓 Not Here marks the first time Feinman Todd publicly acknowledges Woodward鈥檚 betrayal, completing a puzzle that once fascinated the political journalism establishment. But the scandal is only a small part of her story.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about writing, and it鈥檚 about journalism,鈥� Feinman Todd said. 鈥淚 cared about telling a good story 鈥� telling my story.鈥�

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Feinman Todd recounts her time as a young woman in the Post newsroom, which she describes as a 鈥済rassroots master鈥檚 program in journalism,鈥� filled with 鈥渂rilliant, quirky, wonderful鈥� people. But it was also a newsroom still adjusting to the concept of gender equality.

鈥淚t was the 鈥�80s. Women had won equal rights, and we were supposed to do anything a man could do,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut there was sexism, explicit and implicit. Some women could overcome it, but for someone like me 鈥� inherently a people pleaser 鈥攊t was hard to overcome. And I think that鈥檚 why I became an assistant.鈥�

As she started a family (her husband is English professor ) and took on fewer ghostwriting gigs in the late 1990s, Feinman Todd soon found her niche as a professor. Though she had enjoyed teaching classes at Georgetown for years, walking across the Key Bridge to the Hilltop became more and more appealing as she grew dissatisfied with her life as ghostwriter. Georgetown provided a branch out of the swamp, allowing her to disappear from a world she had grown disillusioned with.

No longer resigning herself to supporting roles, she eagerly took on the challenge of leading the master鈥檚 in journalism program at the School of Continuing Studies.

鈥淚 knew Georgetown needed more journalism classes, and I knew I was in the right position,鈥� Feinman Todd said.

Her work paid off: The former writer鈥檚 assistant developed into a charismatic classroom presence and beloved professor, even as her name faded from insider-Washington. From 2007 to 2011, she and a co-professor, , led a class and an award-winning investigation into the kidnapping and death of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Her 鈥淲ashington Confidential鈥� writing class, co-taught with English professor , has become a students鈥� favorite. The undergraduate journalism minor, now in its sixth year, attracted 35 applications this spring.

鈥淚 always wanted to teach, and I鈥檓 very proud of what we鈥檝e built here,鈥� Feinman Todd said.

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While she鈥檚 happier than ever at Georgetown, teaching isn鈥檛 the end of the road for Feinman Todd. More than anything, Pretend I鈥檓 Not Here is an in-depth look at the life of a writer. The thrills of success and brushes with fame are there, of course, but so are the boring days, and the heartbreak when an inherently tenuous career takes unplanned turns. For Feinman Todd, ghostwriting was simply a way to pay the bills while she worked on the great Washington novel.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about book tours and advances and seeing your name up in lights. It鈥檚 about rejection letters, estimating your taxes, scrambling for your next gig,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut if you have the compulsion to write, I can鈥檛 think of something I鈥檇 rather do.鈥�

Ghostwriting took her down a fascinating road. But now that she鈥檚 finally picked up the pen and gotten that story on paper, she鈥檚 ready to tell more.

鈥淢y first mistake was not sticking with the fiction writing,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 going to get back to that now, and I鈥檓 hopeful about getting published. I鈥檓 working on a historical novel, and it鈥檚 set in Washington. In the White House.鈥�