Kellie, thank you so much for this. There is one thing you said that especially stayed with me: “Avery Rowan just tells the story.”
That means so much to me because that is exactly what I tried to do. I didn't want to make our lives neater than they were, explain away our mistakes, or tell readers what they were supposed to feel. I wanted to put these people on the page as I knew and loved them—the laughter, the foolishness, the complicated parts, the love, the losses—and trust the story to do the rest.
So hearing that it made you laugh, made you sad, and had you thinking about the people who shaped your own life tells me that you didn't just read our story—you found something of your own life in it. That is incredibly meaningful to me.
And when you said the book has “staying power” and that you're finished but not done thinking about it...wow. These people have stayed with me for decades. Knowing that, through these pages, a little piece of them stayed with you too is more than I could ask for.
Thank you for reading the story and for receiving it with such care.
That means so much to me because that is exactly what I tried to do. I didn't want to make our lives neater than they were, explain away our mistakes, or tell readers what they were supposed to feel. I wanted to put these people on the page as I knew and loved them—the laughter, the foolishness, the complicated parts, the love, the losses—and trust the story to do the rest.
So hearing that it made you laugh, made you sad, and had you thinking about the people who shaped your own life tells me that you didn't just read our story—you found something of your own life in it. That is incredibly meaningful to me.
And when you said the book has “staying power” and that you're finished but not done thinking about it...wow. These people have stayed with me for decades. Knowing that, through these pages, a little piece of them stayed with you too is more than I could ask for.
Thank you for reading the story and for receiving it with such care.