►
From YouTube: AviD Author: Karen Walker
Description
Des Moines Public Library Presents the 2013 AViD Authors Visisting in Des Moines Series
Help us caption & translate this video!
https://amara.org/v/C0sy6/
A
Thank
you
all
very
much
and
welcome
tonight,
just
a
few
brief
words
and
then
we'll
get
on
with
the
real
show,
I'd
like
to
welcome
you
to
the
2013
authors
visiting
in
Des
Moines
series
this
evening,
karen
thompson,
walker
will
discuss
and
present
or
novel
the
age
of
miracles.
If
you've
not
yet
had
the
pleasure
of
reading
it,
I
can
tell
you
that
you
have
a
real
treat
in
store
a
review
from
the
New
York
Times.
A
Publishers
Weekly
called
it
a
gripping
debut,
while
the
apocalypse
looms
large
has
in
fact
already
arrived.
The
narrative
remains
fiercely
grounded
in
the
surreal
and
the
horrifying
day-to-day
and
the
personal
decisions
that
persist,
even
though
no
one
knows
what
to
do
a
triumph
of
vision,
language
and
terrifying
momentum.
The
story
also
feels
eerily
plausible,
as
if
the
problems
we've
been
worrying
about
all
along
pale
in
comparison
to
what
might
actually
bring
our
end
a
New
York
Times
bestseller.
A
The
book
is
also
a
finalist
for
the
Barnes
&
Noble
Discoverer
award,
as
well
as
for
the
indie
Choice
Award,
and
a
goodreads
choice
award
named
one
of
the
best
books
of
the
year
by
people
magazine
o
magazine,
the
Financial
Times
kirkus
and
publishers
weekly.
The
book
has
been
translated
into
29
languages
according
to
Deadline
Karen's
gripping
story
may
well
be
adapted
for
an
upcoming
movie
with
Catherine
Hardwicke
as
the
director
karen
is
a
graduate
of
UCLA
and
the
Columbia
MFA
program
and
previously
worked
as
a
book
editor
at
simon
&
schuster.
A
Her
writing
has
appeared
in
The,
Wall,
Street,
Journal
and
real
simple
and
in
2012.
Walker
gave
a
TED
talk
on
the
subject
of
fear
and
the
imagination
at
the
Ted
global
conf
or
in
Edinburgh
Scotland
born
and
raised
in
San
Diego's.
She
now
lives
in
Iowa,
City
Iowa
with
her
husband.
It
is
now
my
great
pleasure
to
introduce
to
you
the
author
of
the
age
of
miracles.
Please
join
me
in
extending
a
warm
Des
Moines
welcome
to
karen
thompson,
Walker.
B
Thank
you
thanks.
So
much
for
coming
with
such
a
great
turnout,
I'm
really
excited
to
be
part
of
such
a
wonderful
series.
I'm,
really
it's
exciting,
especially
as
a
new
new
ish
Iowa
resident.
The
reason
I'm
in
iowa
city
is
because
my
husband
just
started
as
a
student.
This
fall
I
mean
I.
Guess
it's
not
that
recent
six
months
ago,
eight
months
ago,
as
a
student
at
the
Iowa
Writers
Workshop,
so
we're
here
we're
in
Iowa
for
an
exciting
reason,
but
it's
fun
to
kind
of
get
a
chance
to
explore.
B
The
state
I
mean
really.
The
Miss
is
really
one
of
my
first
I
mean
I've,
never
lived
in
the
midwest
and
I.
Never
even
it
was
able
to
visit
very
much
so
it's
really
been
kind
of
exciting
and
stimulating
and
great
to
get
to
know
the
area-
and
this
is
my
first
time
in
Des
Moines,
but
then
what
a
beautiful
building
I
kind
of
can't
get
over
how
beautiful
this
library
is.
B
So
oh
I
also
wanted
to
say
before
I
sort
of
get
started
that
really
my
favorite
part
of
these
kinds
of
things,
always
the
questions
at
the
end.
So,
please,
you
know,
feel
free
to
ask
away
if
there's
anything
you
might
be
interested
in
and
I
like
that
part,
because
then
you
know
then
I
get
to
find
out
what
your,
what
you
definitely
are
interested
in
knowing
but
I'll
start.
So
the
age
of
miracles
is
my
first
novel.
B
It's
the
story
of
a
young
girl
and
her
family
who
wake
up
one
morning
along
with
the
rest
of
the
world,
to
this
really
extraordinary
news
and
and
extraordinarily
alarming
news,
and
the
news
is
that
the
rotation
of
the
earth
has
suddenly
started
to
slow
down
and
a
lot
of
times
when,
when
people
hear
that
premise,
I
find
they
asked
me
right
away.
You
know
where
I
got
the
idea
for
that.
B
I
read
that
the
you
know
the
earthquake
that
caused
that
huge
tsunami
in
indonesia
that
year,
that
earthquake
was
so
powerful
that
it
actually
affected
the
rotation
of
the
planet,
and
so
after
that,
our
24
hour
days,
where
a
few
were
a
fraction
fraction
of
a
second
shorter
and
when
I
heard
that
I
just
I
mean
I
couldn't
believe
it
I
found
it
really
stunning,
and
even
though,
was
a
very
small
change.
It
was
kind
of
frightening
to
me
that
something
I
had
always
taken
for
granted.
B
You
know
the
steady
and
predictable
rising
and
setting
of
the
Sun.
The
idea
that
that
even
that
is
actually
in
flux
was
was
kind
of
I
mean
it
was
creepy
and
sort
of
horrifying
to
me,
but
at
the
same
and
I
started
to
wonder
right
away
what
would
happen
if
a
much
much
larger
change
were
to
happen
in
the
rotation
of
the
earth,
so
in
the
book
instead
of
it
changed
the
rotate,
the
rotation
of
the
earth,
changing
by
a
small
amount
and
affecting
the
days
by
fractions
of
a
second
in
the
book.
B
The
days
the
24-hour
day
grows
by
hours.
So,
first,
by
about
an
hour
and
then
two
hours
and
then
eventually
the
days
are
30
hours
and
40
hours,
and
so
it's
sort
of
this
novel
is
the
story
of
a
you
know
this
gradually
unfolding
global
catastrophe,
but
it's
also
really
a
story
about
a
young
girl
and
what
it's
like
to
grow
up
in
a
time
of
extreme
uncertainty.
B
B
So
I
decided
to
try
writing
a
short
story
in
which
the
rotation
of
the
earth
changed
dramatically
and
if
you,
if,
if
somehow
I,
could
have
someone
told
me
that
that
short
story
would
have
been
my
first
novel
I
would
have
been
totally
shocked
because
it
was
kind
of
an
experiment.
For
me,
I
mean
I
had
before
that.
Only
written
pretty
realistic
story
so,
to
you
know,
be
working
with
this.
B
Fantastical
premise
was
really
a
new,
a
new
thing
for
me,
and
it
was
only
14
pages
long,
but
it
did
have
sort
of
the
same
voice
and
the
same
opening
that
the
novel
eventually
came
to
have,
and
it
always
it
always
going
to
be
partly
about
this
young
girl,
Julia
and
that
that
decision
came
to
me
sort
of
immediately
and
suddenly
and
I
didn't
I,
didn't
exactly
think
it
through
I.
Just
that's
just
the
way.
I
could
imagine
telling
this
story,
but
I
do
think
it.
B
It
helped
focusing
on
a
young
girl
did
turn
out
to
be
a
way
to
make
this
big
global
premise
feel
I,
hope,
more
intimate
and
more
personal,
and
in
that
sense
maybe
more
real.
You
know
it
kind
of
was
interested
in
trying
to
tell
a
disaster
story,
a
different
kind
of
disaster
story
that
would
really
be
focused
on
ordinary
people
and
how
they
would
react
to
this
huge
to
a
huge
catastrophe
and
sort
of
an
ongoing
uncertainty.
So
anyway,
I
wrote
this
this
story.
B
It
was
14
pages
long
and
then
I
really
set
it
aside.
I
didn't
I,
didn't
I
didn't
do
much
with
it.
It
was.
It
was
part
of
my
thesis,
which
was
like
a
collection
of
short
stories
that
I
turned
in
for
my
masters,
but
I
I
wasn't
sure
that
I
was
gonna.
Do
anything
else
with
it,
and
I
was
just
right
continue
to
write
other
stories
and
I
started
working
in
book.
Publishing
got
a
job
at
an
editorial
assistant
at
Simon,
&,
Schuster
and
any
after
I've
been
working
in
that
job.
B
For
about
a
year,
you
know
learning
to
work
on
other
people's
books.
I
looked
back
at
this
short
story
and
I
and
for
some
reason
at
that
point
he
sort
of
suddenly
I
realized
that
that
premise
might
work
as
a
novel
and
I
kind
of
remember
thinking
that
not
exactly
that
I
thought
I
could
write
it
exactly.
It
was
more
like
I
could
imagine
it
existing
like
a
novel
with
his
premise
could
be
on
my
shelf
and
I
really
didn't
know
if
I
would
be
able
to
do
it.
B
B
Think
like
a
lot
of
jobs,
but
it's
definitely
true
of
being
an
editor
or
start
ute,
and
you
start
as
an
editorial
assistant
work
your
way
up,
but
that
that
whole
editorial
sort
of
journey
involves
your
expect
to
do
a
lot
of
work
in
your
free
time,
because
during
the
during
the
workday,
you
know
you
answer,
phones
and
meet
with
authors
and
right
jacket.
Copy
and
choose
help,
help
work
with
me
with
the
artists
in
house
to
figure
out
what
the
cover
should
be.
B
All
that
kind
of
stuff
is
what
you
do
in
the
day
and
then
you
do
your
reading
and
evaluating
of
manuscripts
and
editing.
You
know
helping
other
people
improve
their
helping
people
who,
whose
book
you
are
publishing
to
improve
their
books.
You
do
all
that
work
in
your
free
time,
so
it
was
really
hard
to
find
time
to
write
and
and
now
and
I
think
about
it.
B
So
I
don't
know
if
that
was
necessarily
something
subconscious
was
happening
there,
but
but
the
way
that
I
did
I
wrote.
This
book
was
I
in
the
mornings
before
work.
You
know-
and
luckily
I
should
say
I
didn't
sometimes
when
I
say
that
people
think
I
woke
up
at
three
in
the
morning
which
I
want
to
just
say
that
I
did
not
have
to
do
that,
because
luckily
the
one
were
one
of
the
good
things
about
the
the
schedule
of
my
job.
B
Was
it
publishing
book
publishing
in
New
York
tends
to
start
late
in
the
day,
I'm,
not
late,
but
late,
compared
to
a
lot
of
other
jobs.
So
you
know
930-10
o'clock
he's
okay,
so
I
didn't
have
to
get
up
that
much
earlier,
but
you
know
so
anyway.
I
spent
about
45
minutes
or
an
hour
every
morning
or
most
mornings,
and
so
it
really
is
a
book
that
was
written
that
way
sort
of
hour
by
hour
minute
by
minute,
and
it
felt
very
slow
as
I
was
writing
it.
B
It
took
me
about
four
years
working
that
way,
and
you
know
I
had
friends
from
graduate
school
who
were
publishing
books
and
I
started
to
feel
like
I'm.
Never,
the
train
has
left
and
I'm
never
going
to
publish
a
book
I'm,
never
going
to
finish
the
book,
much
less
publish
it,
but
you
know
sort
of
slowly
but
surely
I
got
to
the
end
and
I
think
in
general,
life
I
now
feel
just
really
grateful
that
I
had
that
experience
as
an
editor,
because
I
know
that
it
made
me
a
better
writer.
B
So,
even
though
it
even
though
sometimes
I
felt
frustrated
by
that
I
didn't
have
more
time
to
write.
I
know
that
you
know
all
the
lessons
I
had
to
learn
to
become
an
editor.
You
know
how
to
what
makes,
for
you
know,
an
a
realistic
character.
What
makes
for
the
clearest
kind
of
sentence
you
know,
but
what's
a
good
sense
of
structure
and
what
does
a
reader
want
from
a
story
all
those
things
that
I
had
to
learn?
B
His
editor
I
certainly
took
home
and
tried
to
apply
to
my
own
book,
and
it
was
great
I
mean
we're
being
a
book,
editor
sort
of
like
being
a
professional
reader.
You
know
it's
your
job
to
stand
in
for
the
reader
and
so
I
think
it
I
think
I
know
it
may
be
a
better
writer
because
it
made
me
a
better
reader
and
I
think
a
big
part
of
writing,
probably
nonfiction
too,
but
definitely
fiction
is
being
able
to
imagine
a
reader
and
what
will
be
clear
to
that
reader
and
what
will
be
boring.
B
B
I
would
I
would
that
whether
I
publish
this
book
or
not
either
way,
I
would
continue
to
be
an
editor,
and
I
would
just
hope
that
I
could
you
know,
published
books
and
be
an
editor
at
the
same
time,
but
after
I
don't
probably
eight
or
nine
months
after
I
sold
my
book.
It
just
started
to
get
a
little
too
tempting
to
try
to
take
the
leap
and
try
writing
full-time.
B
You
know
excited
about
applying
to
mfa
programs
and
going
to
Iowa
Writers
Workshop,
cuz
I.
Think
he'd
probably
would
have
felt
like.
Oh
now,
I
shouldn't
you
know:
I
shouldn't
take
care
and
away
from
her
job
so
anyway,
so
it
worked
out.
Well
so
I
mean
I
think,
I'm
going
to
just
read
a
couple
pages
from
the
beginning.
To
give
you
a
sense
of
what
the
book
is
like
and
then
then
talk
a
little
more
about
research,
so
I
don't
think
it
needs
much
set
up.
B
This
is
just
the
very
first
few
pages
and
the
the
narrator
is
this
woman
Julia,
who
it's
very
closely
focused
on
the
year
when
the
slowing,
as
it's
called
that's
what
they
call
this
this
event
the
year
when
the
slowing
began
and
she's
she
was
11
years
old,
then
so
it's
you
know
it's
technically
an
adult
narrator,
but
she's,
remembering
in
very
close
detail.
Her
childhood
experiences.
B
One
we
didn't
notice
right
away,
we
couldn't
feel
it.
We
did
not
sense
at
first,
the
extra
time
bulging
from
the
smooth
edge
of
each
day
like
a
tumor
blooming
beneath
skin.
We
were
distracted
back
then
by
weather
and
war.
We
had
no
interest
in
the
turning
of
the
earth.
Bombs
continued
to
explode
on
the
streets
of
distant
countries,
hurricanes
came
and
went
summer
ended
a
new
school
year
began
the
clocks
tick
as
usual
seconds
beaded
in
two
minutes.
B
Minutes
grew
in
two
hours
and
there
was
nothing
to
suggest
that
those
hours
two
were
not
still
pooling
in
today's
each
the
same
fixed
length
known
to
every
human
being,
but
there
were
those
who
would
later
claim
to
have
recognized
the
disaster
before
the
rest
of
us
did.
These
were
the
night
workers,
the
graveyard
shifters,
the
stalkers
of
shells
and
the
loaders
of
ships,
the
drivers,
a
big
rig
trucks,
or
else
they
were
the
bear.
They
were
the
bearers
of
different
burdens,
the
sleepless
in
the
troubled
and
the
sick.
B
These
people
were
accustomed
to
waiting
out
the
night
through
bloodshot
eyes.
A
few
did
detect
a
certain
persistence
of
darkness
on
the
mornings
leading
up
to
the
news,
but
each
mistook
it
for
the
private
misperception
of
a
lonely
rattled
mind
on
the
sixth
of
October.
The
experts
went
public.
This,
of
course,
is
the
day.
We
all
remember,
there'd
been
a
change,
they
said
a
slowing
and
that's
what
we
call
it
from
then
on
the
slowing
we
have
no
way
of
knowing.
If
this
trend
will
continue
said
shy.
B
Bearded
scientist
at
a
hastily
arranged
press
conference
now
infamous
he
cleared
his
throat
and
swallowed
cameras
flashed
in
his
eyes
and
then
came
the
moment.
Replayed
so
often
afterward
that
the
particular
cadences
of
that
scientist
speech
the
dips
and
the
pauses,
and
that
slight
Midwestern
slapped
would
be
forever
married
to
the
news
itself
he
went
on,
but
we
suspect
it
will
continue.
Our
days
had
grown
by
56
minutes
in
the
night.
At
the
beginning,
people
stood
on
street
corners
and
shouted
about
the
end
of
the
world.
Counselors
came
to
talk
to
us
at
school.
I.
B
Remember
watching
mr.
Valencia
next
door
fill
up
his
garage
with
stacks
of
canned
food
and
bottled
water,
as
if
preparing
it
now
seems
to
me
for
a
disaster.
Much
more
minor.
The
grocery
stores
were
soon
empty.
The
shelves
sucked
clean
like
chicken
bones,
the
freeway
clogged
immediately.
People
heard
the
news
and
they
wanted
to
move
families
piled
into
minivans
and
cross
state
lines.
B
They
scurried
in
every
direction
like
small
animals
caught
suddenly
under
a
light,
but
of
course
there
was
nowhere
on
earth
to
go
to
the
news
broke
on
a
Saturday
in
our
house
at
least
the
change
had
gone
unnoticed.
We
were
still
asleep
when
the
Sun
came
up
that
morning,
and
so
we
sensed
nothing
unusual
in
the
timing
of
its
rise.
B
Had
the
weirdest
dream
last
night
said
Hannah.
She
lay
on
her
stomach
her
head,
propped
up
on
one
elbow,
her
long
blond,
hair
hanging
tangled
behind
her
ears.
She
had
a
certain
skinny
beauty
that
I
wished
I
had
to
you
always
have
weird
dreams.
I
said
she
unzipped
her
sleeping
bag
and
SAT
up
pressed
her
knees
to
her
chest
from
her
slim
wrist.
There
jingled
a
charm,
bracelet
crowded
with
charms
among
them
one
half
of
a
small
brass
heart,
the
other
half
of
which
belonged
to
me
in
the
dream
she
said.
B
I
was
at
my
house,
but
it
wasn't.
My
house
I
was
with
my
mom,
but
she
wasn't
my
mom.
My
sisters
were
not
my
sisters,
I.
Hardly
ever
remember
my
dreams,
I
said,
and
then
I
got
up
to
let
the
cats
out
of
the
garage.
My
parents
were
spending
that
morning.
The
way
I
remember
them.
Spending
every
morning
reading
the
newspaper
at
the
dining
room
table
I
can
still
see
them
sitting
there.
My
mother,
in
her
green
bathrobe,
her
hair,
wet
skimming
quickly
through
the
pages.
B
While
my
father
sat
in
silence
fully
dressed
reading
every
story
in
the
order
it
appeared
each
one
reflected
in
the
thick
lenses
of
his
glasses.
My
father
would
save
that
day's
paper
for
a
long
time,
afterward
packed
away
like
an
heirloom
folded
neatly
beside
the
newspaper
from
the
day.
I
was
born
the
pages
of
that
Saturday's
paper
printed
before
the
news
was
out
report
a
rise
in
the
city's
real
estate
prices.
B
The
times
of
that
day,
sunrise
and
sunset
appear
in
a
chart
on
the
back
page
predictions
that
did
not,
of
course,
come
to
pass
half
an
hour
before
we
heard
the
news
my
mother
went
out
for
bagels
I.
Think
the
cats
sensed
the
change
before
we
did.
They
were
both
Siamese,
but
different
breeds
Chloe
was
sleepy
and
feathery
and
sweet
tony
was
her
opposite
and
old,
and
anxious
creature,
possibly
mentally
ill,
a
cat
who
tore
out
his
own
fur
in
snatches
and
left
it
in
piles
around
the
house.
B
Tiny
tumbleweeds
set
adrift
on
the
carpet
in
those
last
few
minutes
as
I
ladled
dry
food
into
their
balls.
The
ears
of
both
cats
begin
to
swivel
wildly
toward
the
front
yard.
Maybe
they
felt
it
somehow
a
shift
in
the
air.
They
both
knew
the
sound
of
my
mother's
Volvo
pulling
into
the
driveway,
but
I
wondered
later
if
they
recognized
also
the
unusually
quick
spin
of
the
wheels
as
she
rushed
to
park
the
car
or
the
panic
in
the
sharp
crack
of
the
parking
brake
as
she
yanked
it
into
place.
B
Soon,
even
I
could
detect
the
pitch
of
my
mother's
mood
from
the
stomps
of
her
feet
on
the
porch,
the
disorganized
rattle
of
her
keys
against
the
door.
She
had
heard
those
earliest
news
reports
now
notorious
on
the
car
radio,
between
the
bagel
shop
and
home
turn
on
the
TV
right
now
she
said
she
was
breathless
and
sweaty.
She
left
her
keys
in
the
teeth
of
the
lock,
where
they
would
dangle
all
day.
She
went
on
something
god
awful
is
happening.
B
So
that's
how
it
starts.
The
other
question
that
I
get
a
lot
about
this
book
is,
if
I
have
it
do.
I
have
a
background
in
science
and
how
much
research
did
I
do,
and
the
answer
is
that
I
don't
have
a
background
in
science,
but
I
have
always
loved
science
as
kind
of
a
layperson.
You
know
I
love
the
science
section
of
the
New
York
Times
I
subscribe
to
Scientific,
American
and
I.
Just
didn't
I
used
to
describe
to
discover
and
I.
B
I
just
love,
especially
the
science
stories
that
have
this
sort
of
element
of
wonder
to
them.
You
know
so
my
favorite
kinds
of
stories
are,
you
know
when
scientists
think
they
find
a
new
planet
that
in
some
distant
part
of
the
universe
that
might
be
able
to
support
life
or
if
they
find
a
new
species
like
a
weird
new
species
that
live
this
at
the
bottom
of
the
ocean.
B
You
know
it's
certainly
fiction,
but
I
wanted
it
to
feel
like
it
was
really
happening,
and
it
was
just
as
important
to
me
to
have
the
science
feel
real
it
as
it
was
to
have
the
characters
feel
real,
so
I
did
research,
but
I
did
it
mostly
on
my
own
and
the
reason
that
I
well,
some
of
it
was
sort
of
accidental
actually,
and
some
of
it
was
I,
did
not
so
much
require
the
scientists,
but
because
some
things
I
got
just
from
reading
the
newspaper
every
day.
You
know
in
our
real
world.
B
You
know
any
time.
I
read
a
story
about
a
mysterious
extinction
of
species,
or
you
know
the
way
that
people
discuss
and
debate
climate
change
and
its
effects
and
causes
you
know
or
even
how
people
reacted
to
the
global
financial
crisis,
like
all
those
those
things
that
were
happening
in
our
real
world
at
the
time
that
I
was
writing.
This
book
I
tried
to
learn
from
and
sort
of
drop
the
relevant
things
into
the
book,
or
you
know,
like
anything
I
read
about
you,
know
a
study
about
sleep
and
or
circadian
rhythms.
B
B
That
is
partly
because
I
think
it's
partly
because
I
worked
in
book
publishing,
which
meant
that
I
new
kind
of
painfully
well
how
hard
it
is
to
publish
a
book,
and
so
I
just
didn't-
want
to
bother
a
scientists
when
I
knew
that
there
was
a
good
chance
that
my
book
would
never
leave
my
computer.
So
I
don't
know
if
that's
just
like
a
failure
of
nerve
or
or
or
just
like
a
type
of
humility,
I'm
not
sure.
But
anyway.
B
You
know,
through
one
of
the
other
editors
I
found
an
astrophysicist,
well
he's
a
graduate
student
at
Johns
Hopkins
in
astrophysics,
but
he
also
happened
to
be
a
real
lover
of
fiction,
so
he
was
the
perfect
reader
for
me
because
he
was
good
at
knowing
you
know
what
I
needed.
You
know
what
what
things
you
know
if
I
had
misstated
something
that
was
from
you
know
known
science.
B
He
could
help
me
fix
that,
but
he
also
was
you
know
it
had
sort
of
a
generous
and
imaginative
sense
of
what
could
happen
and
kind
of
could
embrace
the
the
the
unknown
elements
of
this
of
this
book
of
this
story.
So
he
was
great
and
in
general,
I
was
relieved
by
how
much
of
it
he
said
he
felt
was
based
in
real
science,
but
he
also
really
crucially
help
me
correct
a
few
things
that
I
had
misunderstood.
B
So
I'm
really
glad
that
he
really
glad
that
he
read
the
book
and
I
guess
I
should
say
he
when
I
say
was
based
on
real
science.
It's
sort
of
once.
You
take
the
big
leap
that
this
thing
that
no
one
is
expecting
to
happen.
You
know
what,
if,
tomorrow
we
woke
up-
and
this
was
the
news-
the
rotation
of
the
earth
had
slowed
down.
B
You
know,
after
that,
he
of
the
details
you
know
are
mostly
based
in
real
science,
so
I
was
glad
that
he
could
that
he
felt
that
way,
but
also
I
did
correct
a
few
things
and
I
and
I
did
take
I.
Should
you
know,
I
took
a
few
liberties,
it
still
is
fiction,
but
I
really
wanted
it
to
feel
as
real
as
possible
and
then
I
guess.
The
one
thing
that
I
didn't
have
to
do.
Research
about
was
the
setting,
so
it's
set
in
Southern
California,
where
I
grew
up.
B
I
grew
up
in
San,
Diego,
sort
of
coastal
San
Diego
and
initially,
when
I
chose
that
setting
for
this
book
I,
it
was
just
out
of
convenience,
because
I
was
writing
a
story
about
an
eleven-year-old
girl
and
it
seemed
the
easiest.
Things
seemed
to
be
to
set
the
story
in
the
place
where
I
had
been
an
eleven-year-old
girl
and
I.
Think
especially
children,
especially
I,
think
have
a
real
kind
of
close
relationship
with
the
natural
setting
of
a
place.
B
You
know
what
the
what
kind
of
plants
there
are
I
mean,
especially
like
the
feel
of
the
plants
or
the
knowing
what
things
smell
like
or
what
the
cut
grass
I
was
like
what
the
ocean
smells
like
what
it
feels
to
have.
You
know
sand
between
your
toes
and
all
that
kind
of
sensory
memory.
For
me,
in
California
I
mean
my
California.
Memories
were
really
strong,
and
so
it
was
useful
and
I
tried
to
use
many
of
them
as
possible
as
I
cuz.
B
I
wrote
this
story,
but
the
further
I
got
into
the
book.
I
started
to
feel
like
maybe
there
was
a
more
profound
reason
that
I
said
in
California,
and
maybe
even
growing
up
in
California
was
maybe
part
of
how
I
ended
up
writing
a
story
about
a
huge
disaster
and
I.
Think.
That's
because
you
know
California
is
a
place
where
you're
just
very
aware
of
the
power
of
natural
disaster,
from
a
very
young
age
and
and
maybe
even
more
than
the
actual
natural
disaster,
the
feeling
of
the
threat
of
it.
B
You
know
that
was
just
part
of
growing
up
there.
You
know
like
we
did
earthquake
drills
every
year
and
at
the
beginning
of
every
school
year
we
had
to
pack
a
ziploc
bag
full
of
non-perishable
food
and
that
food
was
three
days
supply.
That
food
would
sit
in
like
some
sort
of
been
in
the
corner
of
the
classroom
and
that
food
was
the
food
that,
if
the
big
one
you
know
the
catastrophic
earthquake
that
they
think
will
someday
head
California.
B
If
that
happened
and
stranded
us
at
school,
we
would
eat
that
food
and
I,
just
when
I
think
about
it
as
an
adult,
it's
so
creepy
I,
don't
think
they
went
into
a
lot
of
detail.
You
know
with
the
kids,
but
I
mean
I
still,
you
knew
what
it
was
for,
but
anyway
those
things
were.
You
know
normal
and
another
time
that
I
that
I,
especially
remember
was
when
I
was
about
Julia's
age.
There
were
two
earthquakes
on
the
same
day
and
I
remember
having
this
one.
It
was
just
a
very.
B
It
was
just
very
scary,
but
certain
experts,
because
of
something
about
the
where
these
earthquakes
were
and
like
the
proximity
to
each
other
and
in
time
they
somebody
said
on
TV
that
there
was
a
fifty
percent
chance
that
the
big
one
was
gonna
happen
in
the
next
24
hours.
So
I
remember
going
to
the
grocery
store
with
my
mom
and
that's
what
everyone
did
also
we
got
there
and
it
was
just
swarming
with
people
and
to
make
sure
you
know
we
to
make
sure
we
had
the
right
enough.
B
The
right
earthquake
supplies,
and
so
the
shelves
where
the
bottled
water
was
or
the
batteries
or
baby
food.
All
that
stuff
was,
you
know,
almost
cleared
and
I
remember,
really
vividly
seeing
people's
grocery
carts
like
heaped.
You
know
heaped
full
of
stuff
supplies
and
it
was
really
scary,
but
then
the
big
one,
the
24
hours
passed
and
nothing
it
wouldn't
it
was
fine,
but
I
do
I
do
remember
that
really
vividly
and
I
tried
to
sort
of
learn
from
that.
B
As
I
wrote
a
book
about
people
facing
a
huge
disaster,
but
you
know
I
think
the
more
I
thought
about
it,
the
maybe
the
most
interesting
thing
about
disaster
and
growing
up
in
California
we're
living
with
that
sense
of
disaster
in
california.
Is
how
often
you
don't
think
of
the
disasters.
You
know
you
know
most
days
in
California
are
very
pleasant
and
you're.
Not
even
though
you
know
that
your
life
could
change
in
an
instant,
you
don't
think
that
way
and
you
live
as
if
that's
not
true
and
I.
B
So
I'm
going
to
read
one
more
shorter
section,
this
one
it
takes
place
later
in
the
book
and
it's
it's
the
scene
with
Julia
and
this
boy
named
Seth
and
Seth
is
someone
who,
after
after
Julia's
gone
through
this
sort
of
long
period
of
loneliness
at
school,
she
has
finally
bonded
with
this
boy
Seth
and
on
this
day.
Well,
I
should
say
one
of
the
effects,
one
of
the
strange
effects
of
the
slowing
that
they
don't
totally
understand.
Is
it
whales
begin
to
beach
themselves
and
mass.
B
B
Seth
knew
a
shortcut
through
the
canyon
to
the
beach.
It
was
a
steep
and
sandy
trail
littered
with
pinecones
and
shaded
by
limestone
Bluffs.
The
smell
of
the
canyon
was
the
same
as
ever
like
soil
and
sage,
but
the
colors
of
California
were
turning
starker.
All
the
greens
were
fading
away.
Most
everything
was
dying,
still
the
canyon
buzzed
with
beetles
and
mosquitoes
and
flies
whatever
the
birds
had
once
eaten
was
flourishing.
Unhon
tada
for
snakes
said
Seth
I
liked
the
way
he
walked
loose
and
unhurried
a
boy
who
knew
his
way.
B
I
was
the
girl
walking
with
him
so
I
watched
that
way
to
the
trail
swung
around
a
corner
and
the
beach
came
into
view.
It
was
low
tide
lower
than
I
had
ever
seen
it.
The
slowing
was
throwing
off
all
the
tides.
Hundreds
of
feet
of
sea
floor
lay
exposed
the
sand
ribbond
black
with
bits
of
iron.
These
were
the
oceans
insides
revealed.
We
stopped
on
the
trail
for
a
moment,
watching
the
ocean
side
by
side
our
hands
so
close.
They
almost
touched.
B
We
crossed
the
coast
road
ducked
beneath
the
caution,
tape
and
cut
and
cut
through
the
space
between
two
ruined
mansions
wet.
From
the
last
high
tide,
one
house
had
collapsed
like
a
cake.
Its
walls
were
lined
with
barnacles
sea
anemones
carpeted
the
front
steps
I
bent
to
take
off
my
shoes
look
said
Seth
and
there
they
were
the
whales,
dark
and
still
prehistoric
in
size.
A
small
crowd
of
people
had
gathered
on
the
beach
good
Samaritans
were
dumping
salt
water
on
the
whales.
B
Other
volunteers
were
returning
from
the
distant
tide,
swaying
with
buckets
full
of
fresh
seawater.
We
could
hear
the
whales
breathing
a
slow,
rising
and
falling.
We
listened,
we
watched,
they
were
social
creatures.
The
whole
group
distressed
by
the
stress
of
any
one
individual.
It
was
obvious
they
were
dying,
but
we
couldn't
help
it.
We
were
mesmerised
Seth
picked
up
two
empty
plastic
cups
from
the
sand.
They
were
bits
of
ancient
litter.
He
handed
one
to
me.
We
have
to
do
something
he
said
come
on.
We
ran
barefoot
down
to
the
water
cups
in
hand.
B
It
was
a
long
run.
The
mud
sucked
our
feet
creatures,
slithered
unseen
beneath
my
toes
dead
fish
sparkled
in
the
Sun,
as
my
hair,
whipped
in
the
wind
when
we
reached
the
lapping
water
and
looked
back,
the
humans
on
the
beach
were
barely
visible.
Their
hair
line,
arms
and
hairline
legs
fluttered
soundlessly
around
the
whales.
The
only
noise
was
the
churning
of
the
ocean.
We
rushed
to
fill
our
cups
with
water
and
then
ran
back
across
the
thick
band
of
mud.
We
looked
for
the
driest
whale,
the
one
most
in
need.
B
We
found
it
at
the
edge
of
the
group
and
we
imagined
that
it
was
older
than
the
others.
Its
skin
was
striped
white
with
scars.
I
shooed
flies
from
its
eyes
one
eye
at
a
time.
Seth
poured
our
meager
water
supply
over
its
head
and
into
its
mouth.
He
petted
its
side.
I
felt
an
urgency
like
love,
hey
kids,
someone
called
from
behind
us.
It
was
a
man
in
a
beach
hat,
an
empty
white
bucket
swinging
from
one
hand,
a
gust
of
wind
drowned
out
what
he
said.
B
So
he
shouted
it
again
that
one's
already
dead.
We
were
solemn
as
we
climbed
back
up
through
the
canyon.
We
were
hot
and
exhausted.
It
was
the
twenty
third
hour
of
daylight.
The
Sun
showed
no
signs
of
sinking
it's
the
magnetic
field,
that's
doing
it
said
Seth.
What
is
a
strong
wind
blew
through
the
canyon,
kicking
up
dust
and
dried
leaves.
That's
why
the
whales
are
beaching
themselves.
They
use
the
magnetic
field
for
navigation,
and
now
it's
decaying
because
of
the
slowing
I
glanced
at
the
sky,
a
smooth,
unblemished
blue.
You
can't
see
it.
B
Seth
said
it's
invisible.
Those
were
only
the
first
of
the
whales.
Hundreds
more
would
soon
wash
ashore
on
the
California
coastline,
then
thousands
tens
of
thousands
more
eventually
people
stop
trying
to
save
them.
It's
not
just
the
whales
who
need
the
magnetic
field
said
Seth.
As
we
arrived
at
the
edge
of
the
canyon
and
took
our
first
steps
on
paved
ground,
we
need
it
too.
He
said
my
dad
says
that
all
the
humans
would
die
without
it,
but
that
day
I
could
hardly
hear
him.
My
mind
was
elsewhere:
I
was
a
little
bit
in
love.
B
So
it's
something
that
I've
thought
about
a
lot
because
I've
always
loved
these
end
of
the
world
stories
and
it's
weird
to
be
kind
of
attracted
to
to
that
that
kind
of
story,
but
I,
know
I'm,
not
the
only
one
I
mean
I
think
lately,
especially
there's
a
lot
of
them
out
there.
You
know
from
The,
Hunger,
Games
or
a
TV
show
the
walking
dead,
I
think
there's
a
brand
new
Tom
Cruise
movie
about
an
end-of-the-world
scenario
or
when
the
end
of
life.
B
As
we
know
it
scenario
and
I
think
the
more
I
thought
about
it.
The
more
I
started
to
think
that
maybe
I
know
it's
true
for
me,
and
maybe
this
is
part
of
why
there
are
other
people
like
these
kinds
of
stories.
Is
that
there's
sort
of
this
secret
pleasure
or
per
pleasure
to
reading
about
a
world
in
which
ordinary
life
has
has
fallen
away
and
I?
Think
because,
when
you
read
something
like
that,
where
you
know
everything
we're
used
to
is
is
is
disappearing.
B
You
know
the
Sun
no
longer
rises
and
sets
at
the
right
time.
Maybe
it
has
a
way
of
making.
You
appreciate
how
extraordinary
our
ordinary
life
really
is
and
I
know
I've
had
that
experience
with
with
other
apocalyptic
stories.
You
know
like
one
of
my
favorite
books
is
blindness
by
josé
Saramago
and
then
that's
a
story
about
an
epidemic,
a
mysterious
epidemic
of
blindness
in
a
city
where
everyone
goes
blind
within
a
within
a
few
weeks
and
even
more
than
even
more
than
the
blindness.
B
It's
the
fact
that
no
one's
prepared
for
this,
and
no
one
so
certain
things
like
garbage
collection
and
police
and
fire
fighting
like
everything
that
has
been
set
up
for
people
with
sight,
can't
can't
can't
be
done,
and
so
at
least
not
the
way
that
they
have
been
doing
it.
So
there's
the
sudden
breakdown
of
everything
we're
used
to
in
society
and
and
and
and
there's
this
one's
I
mean
there's
a
lot
of
scenes
that
had
this
effect
on
me.
B
But
there's
you
know
one
scene
where,
finally,
after
weeks,
these
people
haven't
been
able
to
bathe
and
then
finally
because
the
waters
nobody's
nobody's
tending
to
the
water
system,
it's
just
chaos
has
has
descended
and
there's
this
scene,
where
they're
able
to
sort
of
take
a
bath
in
rain
and
I
think
the
either
the
authors
had
something
like
it
was
the
most
glorious.
You
know
the
most
glorious
thing
that
had
ever
happened
in
the
history
of
the
city
or
something
but
I
did
sort
of.
B
Have
that
feeling
like
I
can
bathe
or
I
can
and
I
can
see.
You
know
these
these
things
that
most
of
us
are
really
used
to,
at
least
in
this
part
of
the
world
that
were
really
used
to
when
we
take
for
granted
suddenly
seemed
I
was
sort
of
felt
more
appreciated
of
those
things
than
I
did
before,
and
so,
if,
if
my
book
has
that
effect
for
even
just
even
temporarily
or
for
a
minute,
it
makes
people,
you
know
think
twice
about
yeah,
just
how
amazing
all
of
our
ordinary
daily
life
things
are.
B
Then
you
know
that
would
be
sort
of
the
most
gratifying
response.
I
can
imagine
so
I
know
that's
what
draws
me
to
these
dark
stories
that
that,
in
a
way,
there's
a
strange
of
lift,
even
though
a
lot
of
the
things
that
happen
are
really
dark
on
the
page.
So
I
think
I'm
gonna
stop
there,
but
I'm
definitely
looking
forward
to
talking
some
more
that
I
think
thank
you.
A
And
thank
you
for
that.
Can
yet
everyone
hear
me:
this
is
your
opportunity.
Now,
if
you
have
the
cards
in
your
in
your
booklet
sheets,
please
write
out
your
questions
and
wave
them.
We
have
people
in
the
aisles
that
will
collect
them
and
I
would
be
happy
to
share
them
with
Karen
and
while
we're
waiting
for
that,
I
have
a
few
of
my
own
from
my
bride.
A
A
B
Is
this
getting
here
means
that
we
can
well
I,
don't
want
to
give
everything
away,
but
it
is
a
big
part
of
the
book
Julia
and
his
voice
F
and
the
just
sort
of
bond
between
these
two
previously
isolated
kind
of
isolated,
kids,
so
yeah,
it's
an
important
part
of
the
book
and
I,
don't
know
I'm
trying
to
answer
this
with
in
a
way
that
is
satisfying.
If
you
have
read
it,
but
it
doesn't
give
anything
away.
If
you
haven't
I,
think
Oh.
A
B
A
good
question
I
got
the
idea
for
the
title
when
I
had
only
written
about
40
pages
of
the
novel
and
I
the
phrase
I
thought
of
it
or
it
sort
of
it
occurred
to
me
as
a
title,
because
I
heard
it
in
a
billy
holiday
song
that
I
really
like
and
it
just
when
I
heard
it
I
mean
I
like
the
phrase,
but
it
also
occurred
to
me
that
it
might
be
the
right
title
for
this
book
because
it
has
I
thought
it
would
have.
The
word
age
would
have
a
double
meaning.
B
You
know
the
age.
The
julia
is
as
a
young
girl
going
through
adolescence,
but
also
an
a
age
like
an
era
in
the
history
of
the
earth,
and
then
miracles
I
mean
I
definitely
meant
that
in
a
little
bit
of
a
loose
way
and
not
the
traditional
religious
way,
I
thought
of
it
as
a
miracle
as
an
event
that
happens
that
breaks
with
the
rules
of
reality,
as
we
understand
them
so
in
that
sense,
I,
think
the
slowing,
even
though
it
has
a
lot
of
negative
effects.
B
It
has
that
it
meets
that
definition
of
just
sort
of
an
awesome
event
that
we
can't
explain
and
in
another
way,
I
think
adolescents.
There's
a
put
a
line
in
the
book
about
how
adolescents
is
is
like
an
age
of
miracles,
because
kids
are
changing
and
growing
so
quickly
that
it
seems
almost
impossible
and
there's
a
sense
of
yeah.
Just
it's
just
amazing.
How
much
is
going
on
in
that
phase
of
life?
There's
something
a
little
miraculous
about
that.
Have
I
experienced
any
miracles,
I,
don't
know
I,
don't
know,
that's
a
hard
question.
B
B
Yeah,
why
the
movie
rights
of
an
option
to
a
company
called
River
Road?
They
they
did
the
tree
of
life
and
brokeback
mountain
and
a
couple
of
other
you,
no
good
movies,
so
I'm
really
excited
that
they're
working
on
trying
to
make
it
into
a
movie
and
there's
a
script,
and
just
a
few
weeks
ago
we
got
some
no
exciting
news,
because
I
know
that
in
hollywood-
you
just
it
takes
you,
don't
know
if
it's
really
gonna
be
made
into
a
movie
until
the
day,
they're
filming
so
I.
B
Try
to
just
keep
that
in
mind,
but
it's
moving
in
the
right
direction
and
the
exciting
news
we
just
got
a
few
weeks
ago
is
it
is
that
we
got
it
or
that
they
got
a
director
Catherine
Hardwicke
and
she
is
most
famous
for
doing
Twilight.
The
first
twilight
movie.
So
that
was
exciting.
She
also
did
a
sort
of
artsy
movie
called
13,
so
I
think
maybe
it'll
be
something
in
between
those.
A
B
A
hard
question,
I
didn't
know
that
it
was
good
enough
to
be
published,
I
mean
I,
I,
think
all
I
all
I
knew
was
that
I
had
taken
it
too.
As
far
as
I
could
get
with
it.
You
know,
I
knew
that
it
was
I
knew
it
had
a
certain
completeness
like
it
didn't
just
well.
It
had
a
certain
structure
that
went
from
beginning
to
middle
to
end.
B
You
know,
I
knew
it
was
some
level
like
that,
and
I
tried
to
make
the
sentence
as
as
polished
as
I
could,
but
I
didn't
know
if,
if
other
people
would
think
it
was
good
enough,
but
I
knew
that
I
had
sort
of
gotten
to
the
end
of
what
I
could
do
myself
and
I
just
hoped
that
maybe
someone
would
think
it
was
good
enough
and
then
I
did
definitely
do
a
lot
of
editing.
With
my
editor.
You
know
we
went
a
few
rounds
to
make
it
better,
but
that's
a
hard.
B
A
B
I
mean
the
ending
was
definitely
one
of
the
hardest
things
to
do,
and
I
realized
by
there's.
There
was
something
in
the
design
of
the
book
that
made
it,
so
the
ending
was
always
gonna
be
really
hard
to
figure
out,
which
is
I
wanted
this
of
what
this
adult
voice
I
wanted.
I
wanted
the
narrow
to
have
access
to
an
adult's
perspective,
but
also
dip
deep
into
childhood
ratso,
so
I
didn't
want
it,
even
though
it
was
gonna,
be
a
lot
about
childhood
or
adolescence.
B
I
didn't
want
it
to
be
exclusively
from
the
perspective
of
an
adolescent.
You
know
going
through
that
in
real
time,
but
that
so
I
liked
the
voice,
but
the
only
thing
about
that
is,
if
you
having
an
adult
narrator
talking
about
childhood,
that
means
that
certain
amount
of
time
has
passed
since
the
events
described.
Obviously,
but
then,
if
the
writing,
a
story
that
might
be
about
the
end
of
the
world,
you
can't
just
end.
You
know
I
really
wanted
it
to
be.
I
really
wanted
to
be
focused
on
this.
B
What
I
think
is
interesting
about
that
feeling
of
uncertainty
is
that,
of
course,
when
you
don't
know,
what's
going
to
happen,
I
mean
these
characters,
don't
know,
what's
gonna
happen
and
in
anytime
you
know
we
as
people
don't
know,
what's
going
to
happen
next
or
in
our
future.
It's
scary,
there's
fear,
but
it's
there's
also
hope
you
know
as
long
as
you
don't
know
for
sure.
What's
ahead,
it
allows
for
both
of
those
emotions
and
so
I
thought
that
maybe
that
would
be
the
right
way
to
end
the
book.
B
A
B
That's
a
good
question,
the
biggest
thing.
It
wasn't
really
a
big
part
of
the
story,
but
it
was
I
was
attached
to
it
and
it
was
kind
of
exciting
and
it
and
what
it
was
is
I
had
misunderstood.
You
know
if
the
rotation
of
the
earth
changed,
it
would
change
by
a
slight
amount.
Our
experience
of
gravity
but
I
thought
that
I
misunderstood
something
that
I
had
read
so
I
thought
that
gravity
would
be
slightly
less
strong,
so
everything
would
be
just,
and
it
was
a
tiny
bit.
B
You
know
like
baseballs
would
fly
a
little
bit
further
or
you
know
birds
would
fly
a
little
faster.
You
know
that
that
that
level
of
change,
but
when
the
scientist
looked
at
it
he
said
I
mean
he
said
also.
It
would
be
a
very
small
change,
but
it
would
actually
be
the
exact
opposite.
So
baseball's
would
fly
a
little
less
far.
You
know
we
would
all
be
pulled
a
little
more
strongly
to
the
earth,
so
so
I.
So
for
a
minute.
B
I
remember
when
he
pointed
that
out
to
me,
I
was
like
I
did,
have
a
temptation
to
think,
but
isn't
that
the
great
thing
about
writing
fiction
that
you
can
make
you
can
you
know
the
rules
of
the
universe?
Even
the
rules
of
physics
can
just
you
can
just
make
them
up,
but
but
I
didn't
it
sort
of
went
against
my
sense
of
wanting
to
make
sure
that
it
felt
as
real
as
possible.
So
so
I
reversed
it
and
actually,
in
the
end
it
wasn't.
B
It
didn't
feel
like
as
big
of
a
changes
that
guy
had
there.
I
found
a
way
because
a
lot
of
times
I'm
in
the
book
I
used
it
more
as
it
was
a
real
thing
that
was
happening,
but
I
would
use
it
as
sort
of
a
metaphorical
that
you
know
I'd,
say
kind
of
as
if
as
if
it
was
change,
is
this
pit
was
making
us
feel
freer.
B
A
B
B
It's
like
Julia
she's,
it's
a
lot
about
how
she
so
lonely
and
on
her
own
and
stuff.
So
I,
don't
know.
All
of
a
sudden
I'm
like
oh
I,
could
imagine
if
I
had
purposely
put
those
things
in
I
might
have
put
something
like
that
on
purpose,
but
it
wasn't
on
purpose,
so
I
think
there's
something
you
just
start
to
think.
Like
thinking
about
when
I
was
writing
the
book,
I
thought
a
lot
about.
B
B
A
B
Just
did
the
opening,
but
especially
to
say
the
first
sort
of
paragraph
her
first
few
paragraphs,
they
was
just
establishing
that
feeling
was
sort
of
how
I
figured
out
what
the
whole
rest
of
the
book
would
feel
like
so
I'm
sort
of
attached
to
that
I.
Guess
then,
but
it's
true
that
I,
especially
when
I
read
sometimes
I,
had
the
urge
to
wish
that
I
could
still
make
little
changes
and
it's
interesting.
I
was
just
reading
to
just
tonight
when
I
was
reading.
B
I
realized,
there's
a
line
in
here
that
I
wouldn't
right
now,
which
I
mean
just
from
a
win's
of
this
week.
I
wouldn't
have
written
it,
which
is
I,
wrote.
You
know,
hurricanes
came
in
when
bombs
exploded
on
the
streets
of
distant
countries
and
I
real.
As
I
was
reading
it
I
was
really
distracted
by
that,
because
I,
wouldn't
that
I
meant
that
to
be
like.
You
know
how
that
feeling
of
how
there's
always
bad
things
happening
in
other
countries
and
that
exact
thing
I
just
wouldn't
have
written
it.
A
B
B
B
A
B
You
know:
I
mentioned
already
blindness
by
josé
saramago,
the
road
by
cormac
mccarthy,
which
is
you
know,
a
real
dystopian
dark
book,
but
I
loved
it
and
another
one
that
it
also
was
really
helpful
to
me
and
inspiring
was
the
virgin
suicides
by
Jeffrey
huge
entities
and
I
that
one
I
really
I
think
that
helped
me
figure
out
that
I
could
write
this
book
because
he
had
a
way
of
showing
like,
even
though
it
has
a
dramatic
mr.
Maddock
premise
of
five
or
I
think
five
sisters
who
all
commit
suicide.
B
It
has
obviously
a
big
drama
element,
but
as
so
much
of
the
book
is
about
ordinary,
suburban
American
experience,
but
yeah,
it's
really
just
mesmerizing
and
kind
of
sparkles.
In
this
way
that
I
didn't
realize
I.
Think
I
think
I
thought
before
I
read
that
book
that
my
own
ordinary
American
childhood.
A
A
B
B
B
High
school
and
I
was
still
felt
like
I
was
a
kid
so
anyway,
it's
interesting.
A
few
people
have
mentioned
that
to
me,
and
I
don't
I'm
not
sure.
I'm
not
sure-
and
I
also
but
I
also
wondered
if,
if
I,
when
I
made
the
decision
to
make
her
settle
on
6th
grade,
as
opposed
to
like
seventh
grade
I,
also
thought
well
because
I
thought,
maybe
kids
now
would
be
a
little
older,
so
I
don't
know
I'd
say
that's,
I'm
not
totally
committed
in
a
way
to
hell.
B
She
is
but
but
it's
been
interesting
to
hear
the
response
I
mean
responsive.
Oh,
this
is
a
telling
detail.
Adults
say
that
to
me
a
lot,
but
recently
I
was.
I
spoke
to
eighth
graders
and
she's
someone.
She
said
like
that
Julia
thought
seemed
too
young,
so
that
was
maybe
a
little
alarming.
But
anyway
you.
A
You
have
a
following
here
in
Des,
Moines
people
are
following
you
on
facebook.
In
their
reading
about
your
appearances
and
your
travels
and
your
favorite
books,
some
things
with
your
husband.
Could
you
give
us
perhaps
some
how
to
lessons
regarding
how
to
keep
up
with
my
initiative,
life
and
also
keeping
open
spaces
in
your
mind,
which
I
love
you
write
and
create
yeah.
B
I
don't
know,
I
think
I
need
that
advice.
A
little
bit
I
mean
I,
try
to
remember
that.
I
wrote
this
book
when
I
had
a
full
time.
Job
and
I
felt
like
I
had
no
time.
So
we
try
to
remember
that
and
try
to
stay
disciplined,
but
it
is
hard
it's
hard
to
combine.
You
know
creativity
with
just
all
the
ordinary
sort
of
errands
and
stuff
that
you
have
to
get
done.
For
me.
B
Into
my
mind,
I
was
but
I
was
better
at
that
when
I
had
a
full
time
job,
because
I
know
when
I
was
working
that
hour
in
the
morning
was
just
incredibly
precious
and
I
wasn't
tempted
to
you
know:
go
on
Twitter
or
check
my
email,
but
now,
if
I,
if
I
pause
a
little
bit
in
my
writing,
I'll
think
well.
I
have
the
whole
day
like
I'll.
Just
I
can
take
20
minutes
to
read
the
New
York
Times
or
something,
but
that
takes
my
mind
and
I
do
sometimes.
B
B
A
B
I
mean
there's
not
one
sort
of
on
the
tip
of
my
tongue,
but
it's
a
good
question.
I,
don't
know
I'm,
not
sure
I
mean
you
know
a
lot.
A
lot
of
the
questions.
People
ask
are
sort
of
related
to
other
questions
that
I've
been
asked
before,
and
it's
always
kind
of
exciting
like
that
one.
Actually,
when
I
get
something
different,
but
then
in
this
case
I
don't
know
I'm
unprepared.
For
that
then.
A
B
So
I'm
definitely
I
feel
a
little
superstitious
about
saying
very
much
about
it.
Cuz.
It
just
feels
a
little
like
fragile,
because
I'm
so
early
on
in
the
process,
but
I
think
what
I've
been
sort
of
saying
is
that
it's
another
story
about
ordinary
people
facing
a
really
extreme
situation,
but
in
this
new
book
it's
a
totally
different
type
of
situation,
but
but
I
will
say
iowa
my
make
an
appearance.