These typewritten secrets are from participants of my #ShareYourSecrets campaign who asked to have their handwriting kept private. Most of the secrets from this campaign are shared by teenagers I’ve met at high school visits and book festivals. However, a few are from adults who’ve also attended my events. These secrets have been shared anonymously to…
Today I’m sharing more secrets from the #ShareYourSecrets campaign. Many of these secrets come from teenagers I’ve met at high school visits and book festivals, and a few are from adults who’ve attended my events. These secrets have been shared anonymously to give a voice to the secrets we hide. Typewritten secrets are from participants who…
Since All We Left Behind came out in December, I’ve been collecting secrets. One of the major themes in All We Left Behind is the silence that surrounds Kurt and Marion’s secrets and how their desire to hide the past causes them to act in ways they normally never would. This is because secrets gain power from…
All We Left Behind is a book that talks about the complexities of sex. Teenage sex. It’s an undeniable theme in the novel. But it’s also a theme I avoid taking about. Why? Because I feel like I’m not supposed to talk about sex, much less write an entire novel about teenagers who are struggling…
I’m humbled by the warm welcome I received at three high schools I visited in Vermont at the beginning of this month. It’s not easy to stand in front of a group of real teenagers and talk about the difficult subject matter of All We Left Behind. Sex, intimacy, shame, and secrets are among the…
Earlier this month my hometown newspaper The Ellsworth American helped break the silence by doing a feature on All We Left Behind and the conversation it’s inspiring! I’m grateful to all the brave readers who’ve been contacting me and participating in the #shareyoursecrets campaign. “Silence is a strong theme in the novel and at my book launch I talked…
Earlier this week I posted the secrets and stories shared at my book launch as part of the #ShareYourSecrets initiative. As I was working on this blog post another similar campaign crossed my desk. It’s the Out of Silence, Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 campaign. Once again a taboo topic that is shrouded…
All We Left Behind is a love story about two teenagers who don’t want to share their secrets, only to discover that true intimacy requires vulnerability and facing their shame. Silence is a strong theme in the novel and at my book launch I talked a lot about the power silence can have over us. Silence…