Emma asked Gayle Forman:

Maribeth's crazy life (and her reaction to it) in LEAVE ME really really resonated with me as a 21st century working mom. Did the real lives of women (yours or others) motivate your writing of the novel at all?

Gayle Forman Yes. Most of my friends are mothers; most of them work. All of us struggle to balance the demands of jobs and managing families. Most of us are the default parents for our children. Lately, I've been questioning that last bit. Why is it that even though we work, many of us as much as our husbands, we are responsible for the lion's share of childcare and household duties? It used to be assumed: Mom birth the child, Mom raises the child. But maybe we should stop assuming that.

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