Maria Ciletti
asked
Jennifer Weiner:
I just finished Mrs. Everything. Wow, what a great story! Enjoyed it from cover to cover. Jo's story is my story ( only a decade later.) Your handling of her relationship with Shelly was spot on and gave many of us a sense of legitimacy. I also loved seeing how Bethy evolved and over come some pretty tough obstacles. Did you interview people specifically this book or was this story that come solely from you?
Jennifer Weiner
My mom was the inspiration for Jo's character, but I didn't ask her too many questions -- or, rather, I asked, but she wouldn't answer! So it was a lot of my imagination, and a lot of observing my mom and her sister and her friends, and seeing how they lived their lives. I think they were the last generation where there was an unquestioned expectation that women would have families, and that their husbands and their kids would always come first, and that a career was something you fit in around the margins of being a wife and a mother. Women my age had many more choices...but that didn't always make things easy.
My mom was the inspiration for Jo's character, but I didn't ask her too many questions -- or, rather, I asked, but she wouldn't answer! So it was a lot of my imagination, and a lot of observing my mom and her sister and her friends, and seeing how they lived their lives. I think they were the last generation where there was an unquestioned expectation that women would have families, and that their husbands and their kids would always come first, and that a career was something you fit in around the margins of being a wife and a mother. Women my age had many more choices...but that didn't always make things easy.
More Answered Questions
Kathleen Paterka
asked
Jennifer Weiner:
Hi Jennifer, You mention that you're always reading, usually a novel and sometimes poetry. When you're actively involved in writing a rough draft, do you worry that your writing 'voice' will be affected or influenced in any way by the novel you're currently reading? ~ Kathleen P.S. LOVE your novels (currently reading WHO DO YOU LOVE).
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