Laurie Halse Anderson tackles alcoholism, PTSD in book
Laurie Halse Anderson is known for writing realistic books about controversial subjects for teens. Her book Speak, about the victim of rape, made waves when it was published 15 years ago and is considered one of the most important — and controversial — books for young readers.
In her new novel, The Impossible Knife of Memory, which will be released Jan. 7 from Viking, main character Hayley must learn to adjust to high school while caring for her veteran father who suffers from alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder. Anderson, 51, of New York, has a father who is a veteran and she says the book is very personal.
Take an exclusive look at the book jacket (click to expand), and read a Q&A with Anderson below:
Q. Where did you get the idea for the book?
A. It came from three sources. My dad is a veteran of World War II. He was an 18-year-old country boy and what he saw still reverberates in our family today, and his PTSD had a lot of ramifications. So that's one. Then we jump to the present, and I have nephews and cousins who have served in the military, and I've seen that we don't do a good job of helping our military in coming home from the Iraq war. Not only that, but I've seen what happens to the family when a parent comes from from war, what happens when you're a teenager and your parents aren't acting like grown-ups. And finally, an uplifting one. I thought it was time for me to write a love story. My main character has a lot of darkness in her life and then she falls in love with a great guy.
Q. Is this story more personal than your other novels?
A. Yes, definitely. When I was a kid, I knew that my dad could really lose it. Waking up hearing your dad screaming at night, it's not an easy thing. During the Vietnam War, a lot of stuff came back to him.
Q. How would you describe your main character Hayley, and was there someone in particular that you based her character on?
A. She's kind of kick-a--. She's smart and socially attuned. She's just entering traditional high school for the first time so she's struggling with a whole new set of rules. I talked to home-schooled students to get perspective, and they said that high school's a very different environment. They are used to adults who treat them like peers. Hayley is an outsider so she can see the world and hypocrisies of high school, but she's fierce and honest and kind-hearted.
Q. Why do you like to write for high schoolers?
A. My interaction with high school students goes back when I was a freelance reporter on the high school beat, even before my kids became of age. And then my own kids came of age and just reaffirmed that teenagers are the best. I love them so much, and as a country it's almost like we're trying to ruin them. We have to stick with them. They're so important.
Q. Speak was published 15 years ago. What's it like to appeal to a new, plugged-in generation of readers?
A. It is completely fascinating, and a mostly positive cultural change. I have a Tumblr. They send me stuff. Technology has improved the lives of kids so much these days, but the economy is wounding a whole generation and a lot has to do with the struggle of families.
Q. What's one thing that will be familiar with this book for your readers, and what's one thing that will surprise them?
A. The feedback I get is that my books are honest. I don't sugar-coat anything. Life is really hard. I don't pull any punches in this book, but it's definitely a Kleenex book. What my readers are not going to expect, and what I hope they like, is that it's also a love story. Hopefully the Kleenex will be for happy tears.
Q. How do you go about big issues in ways that young readers can comprehend?
A. I just intend tell a good story and don't think much about it. If you try to send messages, that always ends with books being closed. And I didn't write this book for teenagers, per se. It's how I write and it's honest. Kids grow up really quickly these days and I'm much more aware of how much they know about the world.
Q. After the book was finished, you revised the final chapter. Why?
A. I revise a lot and I'm more than a little of a perfectionist. When I sent in the book (to her publisher, Viking) , I knew I was not digging that last chapter. I kept thinking about it and I figured it out. In your teens, movies lie. Things are not always tied up so nicely. I like leaving my books more open-ended. The creative challenge with the ending was that I was balancing two relationships, the relationship between Hayley and her dad, Andy, and Hayley and this guy named Finn. When it came to ending the book, it was all about layering the relationships in a certain order so the reader is satisfied.
Q. How long did the book take you to write?
A. It took about a year. I've been thinking about it a long time. I've been thinking about PTSD in particular as my dad was struggling. I have a cousin that was in an early part of the (Iraq) war. He's doing great but when he got back, it brought up a lot of those feelings. Writing it was very cathartic. I am lucky to have an amazing dad. He lives nearby and we go to the gym and then go to the diner together.
Q. How do you approach censorship in literature for young readers?
A. It's changed over the years. Before, I was completely blindsided and now I respect some of the people who try to ban my books. When a parent is concerned, I can just agree with them, because it's a super scary world out there. My response to that is, "Does your high school library have newspapers?" They're going to see everything. Now, the piece that makes me angry are the politicians who manipulate the fears of parents.
Q. Can you talk about your experience making Speak into a movie?
A. It was filmed in 2003 and Showtime was the real money behind it, and it starred Kristen Stewart. She did a great job. I worry about her a little bit because it's hard to be a young person in that world. But it was a fantastic experience. We took a road trip to Ohio and I actually appear in the movie as a lunch lady. I'm actually talking to you from L.A. right now, and I'm hoping there's interest in doing more with film, both for contemporary YA's and for other work.
Q. And it's coming out as a graphic novel?
A. Yes, and I'm very excited about it because the main character kind of finds her strength through art and that's why it's the most important book that's becoming a graphic novel. Emily Carroll is a fantastic illustrator.
Q. We're revealing the cover — it's very evocative. How did that selection process go?
A. I've been a little bit of a stinker about my covers. What was lucky for me was that my publisher, they came up with a bunch of ideas. It was right in the time of the cover flip experiment, so I had some great conversations based on that. It's fascinating that books with a male narrator tend to be a little more experimental. I didn't want to have a "face book," a book with a teenage girl's face on it. They kept going back to the drawing board.
Q. What were the rejected covers like?
A. They had faces on them. One of the faces had a mask with knife shapes and that one was a great transition and the creative visual people were trying to find. It actually blew me away.
Q. What's the best book you've read recently?
A. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. I bought it as an e-book first and I loved it so much so I bought a physical copy to mark up. It's wonderful, layered, delicious. It's like a croissant of a book.
Q. Any other entertainment you're absolutely devouring this summer?
A. I'm finally watching Mad Men. As a child of the '60s, I can't believe how old everything looks! I am the age of baby Eugene.
Q. What's up next for you?
A. I have the last historical novel set during the American Revolution, the Battle of Yorktown! Then I am in the fun part, with this novel turned in, getting to go back at the drawing board.