An Inside Look with Ann Braden
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Agnes?
It was simple. She’s me. A fictional version, certainly, but still. Growing up in a Connecticut suburb with a single mom, a dad who died when she was a baby, who needs braces because her canines are impacted in the roof of her mouth, and who has all sorts of questions and self-doubts connected to the basic assumptions within Christianity – that was me.
What do you think is her most admirable quality?
I think her most admirable quality is her ability to not simply blame herself when she struggles with her faith, but to step back, see the larger picture, and be willing to formulate questions about why things are the way they are. Gracy, her anthropologist neighbor, certainly gets her going in that direction (thank goodness for good teachers and mentors!), but Agnes, to her credit, has the courage to open her mind and be willing to see things in a new way.
Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?
Ooh, that’s a tough question. I struggle with questions like this for myself (and then by extension for my characters). Generally, the answer is no. Having lost a parent at such a young age has infused my whole life with a live-without-regrets quality, and in Agnes’s case that gets applied to her character as well. That doesn’t mean that you don’t make mistakes – more that you just do the best you can with the information and resources you have at the time. And that’s what Agnes does.
What do you think Agnes can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
It can be so lonely when you have questions that appear to go against what everyone else seems to be saying and believing. It’s so easy for those questions to immediately make you doubt yourself, rather than the system around you. What I hope Agnes can offer is the assurance that the reader is not alone – that others doubt, that others struggle, that others have questions – and that that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you.
How did you research Agnes and the circumstances she found herself in?
I didn’t need to research Agnes’s experience because so much of it aligned with my own experience growing up. (Like even though my church itself was actually super supportive about questions, I still ended up with a president of our youth group requiring we sign a pledge form saying that we believed in God – when I wasn’t sure I did.) That said, there were books I read along the way that shaped me in enormous ways that laid additional groundwork for my understanding of Agnes and the transformation that was possible. Reading The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd in my late twenties marked a turning point in my life. I also loved and devoured A History of God by Karen Armstrong.
I did do significant and extensive research for this book, though, reading book after book about the role of women in early history and about early Christianity. I needed to make sure that everything anthropologist PhD-holder Gracy said was accurate and confirmed by multiple sources. Some of my favorite books along the way were Who Cooked the Last Supper? The Women’s History of the World by Rosalind Miles, The Invisible Sex: Uncovering the True Roles of Women in Prehistory by J. M. Adovasio, Olga Soffer, and Jake Page; Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Weyland Barber, and From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World (Volume One) by Marilyn French.
What was the hardest scene to write about her?
Am I allowed to say the whole book? This was a writing process that was completely different than any book I’d written before. It was so personal that it was much harder to see the forest for the trees as I was drafting. The topic was so important to me and I had such a deep connection to Agnes that there was just SO MUCH THERE. But it was too much, and for a while it was all too tangled. But thankfully I was able to shepherd this book idea through multiple rewrites over the course of multiple years. It wouldn’t at all have been possible to find the true heart of the story without the help of my fabulous critique group (the Rocket Cats). And then, taking it to the next level -- the kind of level where this big, deep, personal story is being successfully told in a mere 163 pages -- was the magic of my genius editor, Nancy Paulsen. I am so incredibly grateful for my team and so proud of the result!
Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?
Oof, that’s like having to put her best friend Mo, her neighbor Gracy, and her mom all in a cage fight! I don’t know if I can choose! I think often we get different things from different people in our life, and that we need all of it to support our full selves. For Agnes, her silly, creative side is supported by Mo, her desire to broaden her understanding of the world is supported by Gracy, and that basic human need (that we all have) to believe she is enough, just the way she is, is ultimately supported by her mom. Basically, in this cage match, they all end up hugging and declaring themselves Team Agnes –– and Team Agnes wins!
Why do you think some young people, like Agnes, are willing to question and push back on some society norms that are being put upon them?
If you have even just one person in your life who’s ready to support any question you ask and ready to question it all themselves, that’s a constant reminder that the world is bigger and more full of possibilities than it might seem. Agnes already had Mo in her corner like that when the book starts, and then when Gracy gets involved, too? That’s when things really start to catch fire…in the best of ways.
What do you think Agnes is doing at the present time?
I think she’s just written a book about her experiences, so that others don’t feel as alone as she did.
SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)
Interview #122 with Tamara Bundy (Author of Pixie Pushes On)
Interview #123 with Lindsay Lackey (Author of All the Impossible Things)
Interview #124 with Tae Keller (Author of When You Trap a Tiger)
Interview #125 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Roll With It)
Interview #126 with Hena Khan (Author of More to the Story)
Interview #127 with Phil Bildner (Author of A High-Five for Glenn Burke)
Interview #128 with Leslie Connor (Author of A Home for Goddesses and Dogs)
Interview#129 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Queen Bee and Me)
Interview #130 with Jody J. Little (Author of Worse Than Weird)
Interview #131 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Things You Can't Say)
Interview #132 with Kaela Noel (Author of Coo)
Interview #133 with Rebecca Stead (Author of The List of Things That Will Not Change)
Interview #134 with Gae Polisner (Author of Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me)
Interview #135 with Emily Blejwas (Author of Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened)
Interview #136 with Joy McCullough (Author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost)
Interview #137 with Kim Baker (Author of the Water Bears)
Interview #138 with Erin Entrada Kelly (Author of We Dream of Space)
Interview #139 with Jess Redman (Author of Quintessence)
Interview #140 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Every Missing Piece)
Interview #141 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Brave Like That)
Interview #158 with Rebecca Ansari (Author of The In-Between)
Interview #159 with John David Anderson (Author of One Last Shot)
Interview #160 with Tracy Holczer (Author of Brave in the Woods)
Interview #161 with James Bird (Author of The Brave)
Interview #162 with Marcella Pixley (Author of Trowbridge Road)
Interview #163 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Halfway to Harmony)
Interview #164 with Alan Gratz (Author of Ground Zero)
Interview #165 with Lisa Fipps (Author of Starfish)
Interview #166 with Ann Braden (Author of Flight of the Puffin)
Interview #167 with Kimberly Willis Holt (Author of The Ambassador of NoWhere Texas)
Interview #168 with Elana K. Arnold (Author of The House That Wasn't There)
Interview #169 with Erin Soderberg (Author of The Great Peach Experiment)
Interview #170 with Donna Gephart (Author of Abby, Tried, and True)
Interview #171 with M. Evan Wolkenstein (Author of Turtle Boy)
Interview #172 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Bea is for Blended)
Interview #173 with Jess Redman (Author of The Adventure is Now)
Interview #174 with David Levithan (Author of The Mysterious Disappearance of Aiden)
Interview #175 with Chris Grabenstein (Author of The Smartest Kid in the Universe)
Interview #176 with Ali Standish (Author of The Mending Summer)
Interview #177 with Holly Goldberg Sloan (Author of The Elephant in the Room)
Interview #178 with Jeff Zentner (Author of In the Wild Light)
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Interview #179 with Katherine Applegate (Author of Willow)
Interview #180 with Padma Venkatraman (Author of Born Behind Bars)
Interview #181 with R.J. Palacio (Author of Pony)
Interview #182 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Too Bright to See)
Interview #183 with Barbara Dee (Author of Violets are Blue)
Interview #184 with Anne Ursu (Author of The Troubled Girls of Dragonmir Academy)
Interview #185 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of We Could Be Heroes)
Interview #186 with Jasmine Warga (Author of Shape of Thunder)
Interview #187 with Joseph Bruchac (Author of Rez Dogs)
Interview #188 with Kathryn Erskine (Author of Lily's Promise)
Interview #189 with Elly Swartz (Author of Dear Student)
Interview #190 with Heather Clark (Author of Lemon Drop Falls)
Interview #191 with Veera Hiranandani (Author of How to Find What You're Not Looking For)
Interview #192 with Elizabeth Eulberg (Author of The Best Worst Summer)
Interview #193 with Cathy Carr (Author of 365 Days to Alaska)
Interview #194 with Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard (Authors of REAL)
Interview #195 with Gillian McDunn (Author of These Lucky Stars)
Interview #196 with Alyssa Colman (Author of The Gilded Girl)
Interview #197 with E.L. Chen (Author of The Comeback)
Interview #198 with J.M.M. Nuanez (Author of Birdie and Me)
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Interview #199 with Jamie Sumner (Author of One Kid's Trash)
Interview #200 with Chad Lucas (Author of Thanks a Lot, Universe)
Interview #201 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Where We Used to Roam)
Interview #202 with Rebecca Caprara (Author of Worst-Case Collin)
Interview #203 with Leslie Connor (Author of Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?)
Interview #204 with Caroline Gertler (Author of Many Points of Me)
Interview #205 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of Susie B. Won't Back Down)
Interview #206 with Shawn Peters (Author of The Unforgettable Logan Foster)
Interview #207 with Aisha Saeed (Author of Omar Rising)
Interview #208 with Adrianna Cuevas (Author of Cuba in my Pocket)
Interview #209 with Jennifer Swender (Author of Stuck)
Interview #210 with Brenda Woods (Author of When Winter Robeson Came)
Interview #211 with Danya Lorentz (Author of the Book Of a Feather)
Interview #212 with Saadia Faruqi (Author of Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero)
Interview #213 with Ellen Hopkins (Author of What About Will)
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Interview #214 with Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner (Authors of What About the Octopus)
Interview #215 with Lauren Wolk (Author of My Own Lightning)
Interview #216 with Rebekah Lowell (Author of the Road to After)
Interview #217 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Honestly Elliott)
Interview #218 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of The Midnight Children)
Interview #219 with Melanie Conklin (Author of A Perfect Mistake)
Interview #220 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Different Kinds of Fruit)
Interview #221 with Tracy Edward Wymer (Author of The Great and Mighty Benjamin Teller)
Interview #222 with Louise Hawes (Author of Big Rig)
Interview #223 with Paul Acampora (Author of In Honor of Broken Things)
Interview #224 with Shannon Doleski (Author of Gabe in the After)
Interview #225 with Jennifer Ziegler (Author of Worser)
Interview #226 with Natalie Lloyd (Author of Hummingbird)
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Interview #227 with Celia C. Perez (Author of Tumble
Interview #228 with Greg Howard (Author of The Visitors)
Interview #229 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Daredevils)
Interview #230 with Sashi Kaufman (Author of Sardines)
Interview #231 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of The Real Deal)
Interview #232 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of New Kids and Underdogs)
Interterview #233 with Amanda Rawson Hill (Author of The Hope of Elephants)
Interview #234 with Jasmine Warga (Author of A Rover's Story)
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Interview #235 with Varsha Bajaj (Author of Thirst)
Interview #236 with Torrey Maldonado (Author of Hands)
Interview #237 with C.C. Harrington (Author of Wildoak)
Interview #238 with Margi Preus (Author of Windswept)
Interview #239 with Dayna Lorentz (Author of Wayward Creatures)
Interview #240 with Katrina Nannestad (Author of We are Wolves)
Interview #241 with Anika Fajardo (Author of Meet Me Halfway)
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