ReadWonder: An Inside Look #216 (Author INTERVIEW)

An Inside Look with Rebekah Lowell

(Author of The Road to After)

*Season #ONE (June of 2016 to March of 2017)

*Season #TWO (Summer of 2017)

*Season #THREE (School Year 2017/2018)

*Season #FOUR (Summer/fall of 2018)

*Season #FIVE (School Year 2018/2019)

*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)

*Season #SEVEN (Fall 2019)

*Season #EIGHT (Winter/Spring 2020)

*Season #NINE (Fall 2020)

*Season #TEN (Winter/Spring 2021)

*Season #ELEVEN (Fall 2021)

*Season #TWELVE (Winter/Spring 2022)

*I'm excited to present season #THIRTEEN with brand new interviews/authors.

*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.

*This is the Third interview in which I'm calling Season #THIRTEEN.

*Thank you to Rebekah for being the Two Hundred Sixteenth author I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.

The Road to After

by Rebekah Lowell

(May 10, 2022)

How did you come to know Lacey?
I came to know Lacey through working through how to best tell a story I needed to tell, for my own healing, but I wanted to tell it from the perspective of the child going through a similar struggle. I wanted to tell this story to young readers, and Lacey became that voice. She first appeared in a poem, as a picture book idea, but soon needed to say much more.

What do you think is her most admirable quality?
The ability to be so strong that not only can she find ways to be okay in herself, by looking to nature, and searching the natural world outside of herself, but somehow, she finds ways to help others, and lifts their spirits as well. Sometimes in helping others, we are helping ourselves without knowing, and I think that is one of Lacey’s best traits.

Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?
No. I love how she found her way onto the page, and how she navigated the difficulty that was her life. I think that each person who goes through trauma, goes through it in their own way, and that journey belongs to them. I think the way Lacey found her path to healing is unique to her and she was exactly where she needed to be when she was there.

What do you think Lacey can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
My deepest wish is that Lacey’s journey brings hope to anyone who is going through or has gone through trauma. There is always a way to the other side. There is always someone there to stretch out their hand to hold yours and pull you up. What I hope Lacey shares with others is that they are not alone, and they can get through tough stuff.

How did you research Lacey and the circumstances she found herself in?
There wasn’t a lot of research that needed to be done because this book flowed my heart onto the page. In February of 2017, I sat down and wrote 1000 words a day and the first draft of this story was born. This is the book of my heart. Unfortunately, Lacey’s reality was my own for ten years, and I drew from those experiences.

Do you and Lacey share any similarities?
Yes, we share a lot, in fact. Not only circumstantially, as in the above answer, but also how we find comfort in nature and enjoy watching the birds, and gardening, and nature journaling, too. Taking time to draw outside is one of my favorite things. It feels so luxurious to me to slow down and breathe the aroma of fresh dirt and feel the breeze while having a pencil and sketchbook in hand.

What was the hardest scene to write about her?
Some of the hardest scenes were edited out because they were too close to home for me, too close to reality, and in turn, were less believable than fiction. They served myself to write my past, but they didn’t serve the story. The hardest scene that ended up staying is one of the flash backs where Lacey is struck by her father and she, her mother, and sister become cornered by her father. While that scene was close to reality, it also felt right to leave in Lacey’s narrative. As an author who is also a domestic abuse survivor, writing this story was cathartic, but I also needed to keep checking myself that I was serving the reader and not myself. Nancy helped me through this process in a way that was sensitive, kind, and skilled. She knew what to cut and what to leave in, and what to write back in differently. Because of Nancy, this book is what it is today, and I’m so thankful.

Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?
This is a hard question to answer, because Lacey and her family had an entire team of support— from family, to friends, to social workers, to law enforcement, to attorneys— they were surrounded with those who cared. Even as they traveled, they found community. So, if I had to say for sure, I would say the collective community who functioned as a whole was she and her family’s biggest supporter. It was not one, but all. The entire community buoyed them because that’s who it took to help them through.

Why do you think young people show such resilience, courage, and strength when faced with difficult and challenging situations in their personal lives?
This is only my own theory, that I am forming and changing as I get to know more young readers, but I think young people inherently carry hope inside themselves and see possibility where some of us who have experienced more years of pain tend to hold onto it and lose that hope with each struggle. I think young people have a gift of and burden of keeping that flicker of hope alive, and it’s harder for some than others. I think the more love and support, the easier it can be. And the more fear and discouragement, the harder it can be. When we know we are not alone, and see others fighting alongside us, it can be uplifting. I think young people are good at community and that combined with their hope inside, makes for a resilient spirit despite obstacles in their path.

What do you think Lacey is doing as the present time?
I think she’s watching over her garden seedlings and drawing in the day and listening to the peepers at night. Right now, though, it’s sunset and I think she and her sister are playing in their backyard, asking their mom if they can stay outside just a few more minutes, until the glow on the treetops fades and the Robins have all gone to bed.

Book Pages

Monday, June 13, 2022

An Inside Look #216 (Author INTERVIEW)

No comments:

Post a Comment