“What if you could change your life? Would you do it? How would you do it?” These introductory questions invite readers into the world of The Shame—Makenna Goodman’s debut novel that follows the yearning and ultimate unraveling of a woman named Alma.
While the book itself is short in length, readers become immersed in a slow buildup to a critical decision that Alma makes revolving around Celeste, a mysterious but pivotal character in Alma's life, who, at first, serves as a source of inspiration for Alma but steadily evolves into infatuation throughout the story.
While Makenna has created a riveting work of fiction, The Shame acts as a vehicle for necessary conversations around the relationship between art, identity, and commerce. For Makenna, these ideas remain top of mind, and in this conversation, she shared more about how she arrived at this transcendent story, her relationship with pace and creativity, and how she's learned to reframe an important question when examining storytelling—and life.
Meredith Westgate — ”Being a writer can often be empathy overload.”
Larissa Pham — ”I think everyone woke up to just how impossible it is to survive.”
Jen Spyra — ”How much doubt attends every stage of your writing?”
Melissa Febos and Forsyth Harmon — ”Writing is the very solitary room where I practice articulating things that feel unspeakable.”
Jen Batchelor — ”I take it very seriously when a word gets hijacked out of our vocabulary.”
Suzanne Koven — ”Literature opens the conversation.”
Courtney Marie Andrews — ”Poetry is asking you to get beneath the surface.”
Lesley Thornton — ”My self-care is preparation for community care.”
Dina Nur Satti — ”Art is really asking people to listen to the process.”
Jessica Manning — ”Your vision for your future changes.”
Zak Williams — ”You need to be engaged with your environment and the people around you.”
Deja Foxx — ”We should be making statements about who we are.”
Becky Cooper — ”What is the story that I should be the one to write?”
Nicole Caputo — ”I really see design as a lifestyle.”
Elizabeth Walton Egan — ”Where speed can hurt is when you are out of control.”
Mélanie Masarin — ”You never remember the time you spent on the internet.”
Lindsay Adams — ”Slow storytelling means giving yourself the grace and the space to evolve.”
Orion Carloto — ”Slowing down is the most beautiful thing you can do for yourself.”
Taylor Sterling — ”I want to be more empathetic to how I can help versus how people can help me.”
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