From National Book Award finalist Amber McBride comes We Are All So Good At Smiling, a haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma—think They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar.
We chat with Amber all about her latest release, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Amber! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
My name is Amber McBride and my day job is always throwing me curve balls—I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia. I also practice Hoodoo which is an African American folk magic system and I talk to trees.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
To answer this question honestly I have to emphasize that the oral tradition/storytelling, which predates the written word, is such a cornerstone of Black culture and life. I come from a family of story tellers, so I’ve told and heard stories for as long as I can remember. My mother actually got her master’s degree when I was not even in preschool yet and she was able to study because I would gather all of my toys and tell myself complex stories for hours. My first written book was called Once Upon a Unicorn, when I was in the 5th grade. My parents bound the hand written book. I still have it!
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
First book I remember reading on my own was a picture book called, Mama, Would You Love Me by Barbara M. Joose. Toni Morrison, the Bluest Eye, specifically the line, So when I think of autumn, I think of somebody with hands that does not want me to die. That line which is about a mother caring for her sick child, just hit me because I saw my own mother. Morrison is an ancestor I study often. I can’t stop talking about or thinking about This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko. It’s a middle grade book about a girl name Jac and a house that appeared at the end of her street.
Your latest release, We Are All So Good at Smiling, is out January 10th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Meet me in the woods…
(which is also a name of a song on Whimsy and Faerry’s playlist)
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect, fairy tales, magic, hoodoo, tears and healing.
I have been very open throughout my life about my struggle with depression and this book dives into those struggles. Whimsy loves fairy tales but is soaked in sadness. Faerry has shadow wings that should help him soar but feels like he is sinking, they enter a haunted garden and the only way out is through.
Where did the inspiration for We Are All So Good at Smiling come from?
I have wanted to write a book about depression for a long time. Then my friend, Ally Malinenko, sent me a draft her book This Appearing House to beta read. She wrote a book about a girl who survived cancer, just like she did. Ally once said, no one ever writes about the kids who live. It made me think of all the people living with clinical depression and how we keep going, but we often only talk about mental health when there is tragedy. Unlike Me (Moth), We Are All So Good at Smiling, took well over 5 drafts before my editor even saw it then several after that. I had not planned on writing the book while going through one of the most difficult bouts of depression in my life and my inspiration at that time was, the only way out is through, I have to finish this book.
We Are All So Good at Smiling focuses on clinical depression and healing from trauma. Can you tell us a bit about how you delved into these topics?
I think the difficulty about writing about trauma and depression literally is that everyone has a different experience and different inpatient or outpatient care. This was my primary struggle when crafting this book. How do you talk about trauma, depression and healing when every single individual journey is different? How do I make the feel of the book sway towards a shared understanding?
I wanted Whimsy and Faerry to reach out from the pages and hug each person who was reading. In the end folklore, fairy tales and extended metaphor were the tools I turned to. Faerry and Whimsy enter a haunted garden with Sorrow at the center, the haunted garden being depression. The fairy tales from around the world hidden inside representing the countless unique experiences. I also used fairy tales to point out that depression can take hold in anyone, even Baba Yaga. I want talking about mental health to be normalized.
Do you have any advice for those who may have set some writing resolutions for the new year?
Stop worrying about perfection, especially in first drafts. You know how kids tell stories with such confidence off the cuff? Do that and fix it later. I am excited for your story.
What’s next for you?
I have my middle grade debut Gone Wolf, which comes out in October of 2023. Poemhood: Our Black Revival, is a YA poetry anthology featuring Black poets that I am editing with Taylor Byas and Erica Martin coming out in 2024 and my adult poetry collection, Thick With Trouble, also comes out in 2024…also perhaps maybe one other book in 2024.
I am working on a Hoodoo fantasy series.
Lastly, are there any 2023 releases our readers should look out for?
So many! Cameron Battle and the Escape Trails by Jamar J Perry, Chaos Theory by Nic Stone, I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times by Taylor Byas and The Gray by Chris Baron just to name a few.
