A beautifully realistic, relatable story about mental health and the healing powers of art–perfect for fans of Girl in Pieces and How it Feels to Float.
We chat with author Erin Stewart about her latest release The Words We Keep, along with 2022 book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi, Erin! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m a young adult author who lives in Utah with my husband, three children and super needy goldendoodle. My new YA contemporary, THE WORDS WE KEEP, comes out March 15! I’m a heart failure survivor, a hot tamale addict, have zero sense of personal space and firmly believe people are put in our path for a reason—always! I’m also the author of the 2019 young adult novel SCARS LIKE WINGS.
How has 2022 been for you so far?
Probably like it’s been for everyone else… a trash fire inside a dumpster rolling down a hill into a bigger fire.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I’ve been writing since I was in kindergarten—pages and pages when we were supposed to write a few lines. Luckily, I had a teacher who always encouraged me to keep going wherever the story took me! My stories always ended in some sort of tragic death or explosion, however, and my mother thought I needed a therapist. Good news: my characters now have a slightly higher survival rate. Sidenote: everyone needs a therapist!
I took a detour into journalism during my college years and early career, but I never lost my love of creative writing and was so happy to find my way back to it in the last ten years.
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!
Definitely Little Women. I know that’s kind of a cliché for a writer to say because we all secretly believe we are like Jo March, but it’s true. That was the first book I read that totally swept me up into the characters and their world, and it made me want to write realistic stories that showed all the pain and beauty in everyday life.
Your new novel, The Words We Keep, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Raw, poetry, beauty, anxiety, love.
What can readers expect?
THE WORDS WE KEEP is definitely real; I didn’t want to shy away from any of the truth about living with anxiety or other mental health struggles. Throughout the story, Lily, the main character, struggles with intrusive thoughts, compulsions, perfectionism and feeling like she’s responsible for holding herself and family together after her sister’s self-harming incident. So, readers can expect authenticity about the darkness of these topics, but also a story that is ultimately hopeful. There is a lot of love and laughter and light in Lily’s life (especially in her makeout scenes with Micah!). The book is also full of art and poetry in unexpected places that help Lily and Micah and a lot of their silently struggling classmates to express themselves. I hope readers that have similar struggles will leave this story feeling less alone, and readers who don’t will leave with more empathy for others.
Where did the inspiration for The Words We Keep come from?
This story came from a very personal place for me. I have struggled with various forms of anxiety throughout my life, and the one that’s always been there is the perfectionism anxiety that tells me I’m not good enough. Intrusive, negative thoughts have been a background soundtrack to much of my life. As a teenager, we didn’t talk about anxiety like we do know, so I thought it was just a problem with me. But now, I understand that my mental health struggles are a part of me, but they don’t define me. I may not necessarily love that part of myself, but I also don’t have to let it fuel self-hatred. So I wanted to write a book that would resonate with teenagers like me, who don’t know where to turn but are feeling trapped by their own minds. I want them to know that they are worthy of being loved for exactly who they are. That their struggles don’t define them either, and they deserve help.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
The biggest challenge was definitely doing a deep dive into my own history with anxiety. It’s something I’ve tried not to face for so many years because like Lily, admitting I needed help went against every perfectionism fiber of who I am. So looking into these parts of myself while creating these characters was painful at times, but also so, so beautiful and healing.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Micah. Micah. Micah. I just love him. He was such a fun character to write and added so much light and positivity to the story. He has his own troubles, too, of course, but I love the way he processes the trauma he’s been through. He knows he still has choices in life, that he is more than his diagnosis, even if the world can’t see it.
I also really loved writing the relationship between Lily and her two sisters, Alice and Margot. Alice is back from a treatment center, so she and Lily are tiptoeing around each other for a while, afraid to say the wrong thing. But the three sisters really do love each other, and it was so enjoyable to write them back into each other’s lives and hearts. I have two sisters as well (I’m the middle!), so I drew on a lot of my sweet (and let’s be honest, not so sweet) moments from growing up to make these sibling relationships feel real.
The Words We Keep delves into mental health. Can you tell us about tackling such a heavy and challenging topic?
It was rough. Not only for me like I mentioned above, but because it’s so important to get the representation right. I was lucky to have several people with life experience and doctors talk with me to make sure I captured mental health in a respectful and accurate way. So often, these kinds of issues are thrown into a book to be sensational or to create two-dimensional, stereotyped characters. I definitely did not want to do that! For me, tackling mental health was all about showing that yes, it’s a major issue that needs to be addressed, but these characters are so much more than that. They have dreams and desires and talents and a whole life beyond mental health.
What’s next for you?
I’m plotting my next YA right now! It’s a little bit of a different vein for me, but I’m very excited about it! I also took the last year to write a middle-grade book with a touch of magic that I’m pumped about. Basically, I’m trying new things and loving it!
Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers?
Always! And there are SO many amazing books coming out this year! I’ve already read THIS MIGHT GET AWKWARD by Kara J. McDowell (another great anxiety rep with a fun storyline!) I’m looking forward to having some time to read GOLDEN BOYS by Phil Stamper, AN ARROW TO THE MOON by Emily X.R. Pan and THE AGATHAS by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson.
