Caitlin Shetterly writes: “In April of 2020, I sat down to write a short story about a couple named Pete and Alice. Pete and Alice were coming to Maine from New York City to shelter in place at their second vacation house as COVID tore across the world. By June, I was writing a novel. I wrote around the edges of homeschooling my kids, cooking, a health crisis, and against the backdrop of that chaotic and bizarre year we’ll all remember forever. I was writing, but more than anything I was seeing it feelingly as I went. By the following April, I had an entire manuscript. I had written it as if in a trance, like my fingers were just trying to keep up with Alice, who talked A LOT. In the process, Pete, Alice, their two kids Iris and Sophie, and their cat Ingmar became so real to me. I started referring to them like they were people I knew, who were, you know, just up the road or something. For me, this was a chance to write about a Gen X woman who was lost in her life, who was seeking refuge in Maine from more than just COVID. I wanted to write about family and Maine and environmental worries and what was happening in America that terribly hard and strange year. I wanted to write about daughters and siblings and marriage and betrayals of all different kinds. It was published and I kind of can’t believe the whole thing. I had such a wonderful time writing the book. I have had such a great team supporting me at Harper. It’s been a blessing at every turn.”
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Class of 1997