Jan 15

Jan 15 Episode #46: How Heartbreak Can Make Strong Writing: a special episode with Jonathan Auxier

“Actually, the thing that most people want me to write about is Yo-Yo’ing”. -Jonathan Auxier

Welcome back to another very special episode of Book Friends Forever! Join Grace and her “Book Friends for Awhile”, author Jonathan Auxier LIVE in Pittsburgh where he currently resides. He wrote “Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes”, “The Night Gardener” and most recently, his award-winning novel called “Sweep”. This book won the 2019 ALA Sydney Taylor Book Award, and the 2019 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award. On this episode, Grace and Jonathan take a trip down memory lane, discuss the topic of writing with heartbreak, and express what they’re grateful for at the moment.

A Trip Down Memory Lane…

The old friends discuss when they actually met. As the story goes, it happened to be at the Miami Book Fair over 7 years ago when Grace was newly pregnant with her daughter. She was just starting to tell people she was pregnant, and she admits that Jonathan and Dan Santant were the first ones (aside from her family members) that she told. They reminisce about the fun breakfast gathering where they laughed so loud, some Floridians at near by tables “shushed” them! Friend and author Lisa Yee was also present that weekend and added to the fun.

About the Yo-yo’ing… fun fact: one of Jonathan’s first jobs was professional yo-yoer. He sold yo-yo’s and also did 45-minute yo-yo demonstrations which he know includes in some of his school visits. Here’s a little example:

The main topic of this episode is examining that old myth; the myth of the tortured artist. Is it true that in order to produce something so moving and so masterful, an artist must have endured incredible heartache, devastation, or loss? Jonathon reflects on his own experience with writing “Sweep” after having been through a big scare with his 3rd child. Grace remembers writing “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” while her late husband Robert was dying of cancer. While they both agree that creating something out of hardship and vulnerability does make for good creative writing, it’s not always to write about the specific hardship. Jonathan didn’t write about having a baby with Down syndrome, as Grace didn’t write about cancer.

“When you feel the vulnerability of the author, it is something that you relate to.” - Grace Lin

Grace and Jonathan dive more into how writing was healing for them. “Sweep” was written with raw emotions of helplessness and pain in a his very specific personal situation. Jonathan wanted to use fantasy to generalize his pain and make it universal in order to feel that he is not alone in this. Everyone feels pain and sorrow. “Some have worse lives than others….Everyone suffers and we need to make that a thing that draws us together rather than divides us.” he says. Both Grace and Jonathan discuss coming to terms with “Loving someone who you know will break your heart” and how that will effect your writing.

What are we grateful for?

Jonathan: Every year his wife joins her mom and sisters to go away for a traditional weekend of shopping in a different city. He is so grateful for this valued tradition and that he is able to stay home and cover everything while she’s away.

Grace: As she has been traveling often these past few months, she is grateful for her family in being so flexible and able to take her travel schedule all in stride.

2-minute Book Review- Alison Morris:

This week’s book review is on “Bird”- A picture book by Zetta Elliot and illustrated by Shadra Strickland.

Alison Morris is a nationally recognized children's book buyer with an infectious enthusiasm for reading and 20 years' experience matching books to readers. As the Senior Director of Title Selection for nonprofit First Book, she oversees the curation of children’s and young adult books on the First Book Marketplace, hand-selecting a diverse range of titles that speak to and address the needs of kids in underserved communities, with a keen eye to inclusion, authenticity, and kid-appeal. She previously served as Senior Editor at Scholastic Book Clubs, Children's Book Buyer for Wellesley Booksmith and The Dartmouth Bookstore, and was the founding blogger of the ShelfTalker children’s book blog for Publishers Weekly. She'll be joining us from her home near Washington, DC where she spends LOTS of time discussing books with her husband, illustrator and graphic novelist Gareth Hinds.