Ask the Author: Shannon Stewart
Answered Questions (2)
Shannon Stewart
My great-grandmother was adopted, and her origins have always been a topic of speculation in the family. When I did a video interview with my grandmother at 75, she believed at that time that her grandmother's parents were victims of a flu epidemic.
But then, at my grandmother's funeral, my cousin told me that he had continued to research the conditions leading to my great-grandmother's adoption. What he learned broke my grandmother's heart. It was a tragic story that, for me, drove home how powerless women were over their own destinies during that time period.
As far as I can tell from my relatively short time on the planet, the situation for women has changed dramatically to the positive. But I know from firsthand experience that there are still pockets of .... I don't want to call it oppression.... It's not simply being held down or held back... it is a complete disregard of your needs, much less your hopes and desires by the people around you, the people with the power to control your destiny... it is being treated like less than a human being... like someone's disposable property. So I decided to bring that story forward, to illustrate an example in a setting with which I am familiar.
Telling this story also gave me an opportunity to illustrate those angels in public schools who reach out with policy-bound hands and do their best to help children in crisis. I am the beneficiary of one such angel, and my life course was rerouted as a result of her tireless faith in me. My children and my children's future children will receive the benefit of her efforts, and I cannot begin to express my gratitude to her.
But then, at my grandmother's funeral, my cousin told me that he had continued to research the conditions leading to my great-grandmother's adoption. What he learned broke my grandmother's heart. It was a tragic story that, for me, drove home how powerless women were over their own destinies during that time period.
As far as I can tell from my relatively short time on the planet, the situation for women has changed dramatically to the positive. But I know from firsthand experience that there are still pockets of .... I don't want to call it oppression.... It's not simply being held down or held back... it is a complete disregard of your needs, much less your hopes and desires by the people around you, the people with the power to control your destiny... it is being treated like less than a human being... like someone's disposable property. So I decided to bring that story forward, to illustrate an example in a setting with which I am familiar.
Telling this story also gave me an opportunity to illustrate those angels in public schools who reach out with policy-bound hands and do their best to help children in crisis. I am the beneficiary of one such angel, and my life course was rerouted as a result of her tireless faith in me. My children and my children's future children will receive the benefit of her efforts, and I cannot begin to express my gratitude to her.
Shannon Stewart
I just started working on the sequel to What She Left. I didn't originally intend to write a sequel. I intended to write an unsatisfactory ending to the story and leave it because that is the reality of situations like Jade's. There is rarely ever a clear and quick resolution.
I wouldn't have considered a sequel if so many readers hadn't suggested it. So I gave it a lot of thought and I came to the conclusion that the long story is also worth telling.
As to what the long story will be, I am as curious as anyone.
I wouldn't have considered a sequel if so many readers hadn't suggested it. So I gave it a lot of thought and I came to the conclusion that the long story is also worth telling.
As to what the long story will be, I am as curious as anyone.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more