December 9, 2024

An Exercise in Empathy

Maurene Goo on the process of mining her own emotions and memories in the writing of Throwback.

An Exercise in Empathy

Maurene Goo on the process of mining her own emotions and memories in the writing of Throwback.

The world when I started writing Throwback became almost unrecognizable by the time I finished it. This is a very 2019/2020 story—we all have one, don’t we? For me, Throwback is a time capsule of that period—when I became a mother as I wrote a book about moms and daughters.

I knew that I would have a big task ahead of me writing my first mother-daughter story. After all, my own relationship with my mother as a teen was fraught and complicated. Unearthing those feeling again—woof. I was glad I had the fun scaffolding of time travel to keep it light, to keep it moving forward without being bogged down by too many feelings.

But when the pandemic hit, when my pregnancy became complicated, and when people started marching on the streets for justice—my story suddenly felt so small. What was I actually writing about?

Putting yourself in your mother’s shoes, yes.

Learning from history, yes.

Revisiting nineties fashion, yes.

But, also…what about…

Interrogating the American dream? Examining your privileges earned by those who came before you? Taking the responsibilities of all the opportunities given to you by parental sacrifice and doing something bigger with it? Being okay with not being okay with that burden?

Empathy is one of those overused words lately—but it is at the heart of every story I tell. It’s the thread that holds all of the above together. What keeps me writing when the world feels so out of my control. Because we can always control the stories we tell.

"Human will is a particularly powerful magic."

On our TBR this week? Anita de Monte Laughs Last by @xochitltheg of course 💙
"Los Angeles was whatever you wanted it to be, and that was thanks to the constant influx of immigrants arriving with their dreams, not only from other countries, but from other states within the nation.”

Love this line about the beautiful diversity of the city from @mariaescandon in L.A. Weather.
Bookmarked, the new Reese’s Book Club podcast, launches tomorrow and we’re thrilled to announce our first guests, romance queens @emilyhenrywrites and @yulin.kuang! 

Listen in tomorrow and prepare to fall in love with their romance-filled episode.
We asked “what’s a book every woman should read once” and Bookthreads delivered 💙 Here are some of the most voted for titles by all of you. It might be time to bring these to the top of the TBR.
"This is a love story and it is better, by far, than any of the ones I dreamed up in the past. If I’m allowed a wish, just one, then it is this: I wish for our story to have a happy ending."

We are still reeling from the beautifully heartbreaking writing in Broken Country. If you haven't read it yet, grab a copy at our link in bio.
"I quite literally told anyone who would listen about this book."

📷+💬: @lorraineslibrary
The Three Lives of Cate Kay and its love stories alway brighten our day. 🌈☀️
You know and love The Last Thing He Told Me. Now it's time to get ready for its sequel: The First Time I Saw Him, available January 2026!
Celebrating the first day of summer with some of our hottest reads ☀️ What’s the perfect book to kick off the season with?
"As I came to understand my path as that of a writer, I realized that my family didn’t have much in the way of material things to pass down, but had stories, had representations of the life we lived together on this earth, and folks before me had representations of the life they lived and survived so that I could be so privileged to be here to tell you all about it…and that for me is the legacy."

Thank you, @delana.r.a.dameron, for sharing Redwood Court with the world and reminding us why it's important to tell stories. Experience the beauty of Redwood Court at our link in bio.