Collected Conversations About The Risk of Us

In the three weeks since the publication of The Risk of Us, I’ve been fortunate to speak with many sensitive and incisive interviewers. We’ve had conversations about whether unconditional love is possible, and what it takes to get there as a family; about the foster care system and the inherent failings of institutional care for children; about our culture’s attitudes towards motherhood and the false dilemmas we create for parents; about trauma and how we heal from it and become whole despite it; about fiction as a space for exploring situations otherwise fraught with judgement. I thought I’d collect those conversations here.

Beth Ruyak, host of Capital Public Radio’s Insight, wanted to talk about trauma as a character unto itself in The Risk of Us. Interview here.

Helen Little, host of Helen Little’s Public Library podcast, asked about the foster care system, the writing process, and shifting between genres. Interview here.

Scott Jones, host of the provocative podcast Give and Take, was curious about the spirituality of the novel. Interview here.

Kory French, host of Break Through Radio’s Book Talk, asked about my memoir as well as about The Risk of Us. Interview here.

GrottoPod, the podcast produced by the Writers Grotto in San Francisco, kindly asked all about the writing of the novel. Interview here.

Elizabeth Stark and Angie Powers, delightful hosts of the Story Makers podcast, chatted about craft considerations like the “why now” hook and storytelling rhythms of three. Interview here.

More interviews are still to come over the weeks ahead. And I wish I had recordings of the conversations that have taken place in bookstores, where I’ve had the especially heartening opportunity to speak with foster parents and former and current foster care workers in the audience. I will update this post as those become available. I am deeply thankful to everyone who has spoken with me about The Risk of Us.

UPDATED 6/7/19: Shelagh Shapiro, of Vermont Public Radio’s Write the Book, talked with me about the story and characters but also about POV–and my favorite writing exercise. Interview here.