Authors on Snacks: Andrea MacPherson

Does creativity have a taste? And, if it does, is it salty or sweet?

January Magazine’s “Authors on Snacks” is not meant to be a judgment. Rather it’s a personal peek at what some of our most beloved authors nibble on while pushing forward on their latest work.

This time out we chat with Andrea MacPherson, whose latest novel, What We Once Believed, was released last spring.

 

What do you snack on while writing?
Macadamia nuts.

Do you consider your snacking to be mostly under control or mostly out of control?
Under control!  I rarely snack while writing.

Latest book:
What We Once Believed (March, Caitlin Press)

Tell us about the book:
What We Once Believed is a novel about mothers and daughters, and secrets and lies.

Summer, 1971. While women demand equality, protests erupt over the Vietnam War, and peace activists march, adolescent Maybe Collins’ life in quiet Oak Bay is upended by the appearance of her mother, who disappeared nine years earlier.

And with her return comes another surprise: she’s written a bestselling memoir called The Other Mother, about motherhood and Women’s Liberation, which gives only passing reference to Maybe’s existence. Camille, now an acclaimed author, is distant and confounding, and Maybe tries to piece together her mother’s life–why she left, the truth behind her famous memoir, and the future of their fractured relationship.

As Maybe searches for her place, so do the other women in her life: her independent and unchangeable grandmother, Gigi; her best friend’s mother, Robin, who struggles with her roles as wife and stay-at-home mother; and Mary Quinn, a successful artist new to Lear Street, who seems to live only by her own rules. Their stories and struggles define how Maybe sees her choices as a woman, and how she’ll navigate a world that is dramatically shifting every day.

But when Maybe discovers that her mother is writing another book — a book about her return — the betrayal is fierce and painful, and Maybe resolves to teach Camille a lesson that will change them all forever. ◊

 

You can see previous installments of “Authors on Snacks” here.