Exploring Maine with Beck Dorey-Stein
Willard Beach is the reason why I moved to Maine five years ago. There are official dog-friendly hours throughout the year, and I thought, what else do I need? I packed my bags and my cats, headed north, and soon thereafter rescued a puppy. On Willard Beach, I met my partner, Ryan, and virtually all my friends. It’s shaped my life into what it is, and on a sparkling summer morning with an iced coffee in hand and my dog frolicking off-leash, it is my favorite place on Earth. At the far end of the beach, out of the way but not entirely out of view, is where I envision the Lowe family training at dawn.
Robinson Woods is where I hold my afternoon office hours. While my hound dog, Billy, sniffs along the path to his heart’s content, I walk through my writing – addressing issues and daydreaming about potential plotlines. Oftentimes I go by myself, but I’m always happy to meet a friend, and now that my son is a self-proclaimed “big boy” (he just turned three), it’s so fun to show him the same woods that his father first showed me. I imagine the Lowe sisters go to the woods, both alone and together, when they need to walk their way into a strategy or out of a bad mood.
Scratch Bakery is halfway between our house and Willard Beach. It’s an easy walk and a total problem because the sea salt bagels and literally all of their baked treats will lure you back again, and again, and again. In the novel, there is a local bakery that specializes in croissants and usually has a long line out the door because nothing brings people together quite like warm gluten. As proof, everyone loves Scratch, including my editor, Whit Frick (featured in pic 1 with Hank and me during her family’s annual Maine visit) and Izzy, our self-righteous English bulldog, who will never turn down a Scratch peanut butter dog cookie.
Q&A with Beck-Dorey Stein
What was the real-life inspiration behind the Lowe sisters? How did your relationship with your siblings inform the dynamics between Mia and Cricket? What inspired Cricket’s impossible choice?
Sandwiched between an older brother and younger sister, I am quite familiar with birth-order dynamics and the resentments that often accompany them. But I’m also well aware of the ferocious love that inevitably brings me to appreciate my siblings far more than I resent them, especially the older we get. My brother introduced me to soccer – and all sports, really – by kicking a soccer ball to (at?) me when I was three in the backyard. Motivated to make me a great athlete, Zach never went easy, which is probably why I still pride myself on being scrappy on and off the field.
The heart of Spectacular Things is the bond between sisters, and I’m lucky enough to have that crazy connection with my little sister, Caroline. Although Zach and I were more competitive with each other because of a smaller age gap, I still reserved the right to push my sister. These days, Caroline is a serious runner and would no doubt smoke Zach and me in a race if we were ever foolish enough to engage. I’m old enough to only feel immense pride in her running accomplishments, and Caroline is kind enough to compliment my (much slower) pacing.
The story of U.S. Olympian Aries Merritt and his sister, LaToya Hubbard, inspired Cricket’s impossible choice. After setting a world record in the 110-meter hurdles, Aries took home his gold medal only to learn a year later he would need a kidney transplant. His sister stepped up and donated one of hers so Aries could return to competing. When I read the article, I was touched by the story of siblings, but also wondered, would Aries have done the same for his sister, if the roles were reversed? Would she have expected him to?
The career of a professional athlete is, at best, extremely brief, so for Aries or Cricket to end it early would be a lot to ask, especially if it wasn’t a matter of immediate life-or-death. And yet, as I researched the lives of professional soccer players, it was apparent that no one can reach that level on their own – it’s always a family affair because to become the best requires an insane amount of time, money, and commitment. There was no easy right or wrong answer, which made it a good subject to explore over the course of a novel. And so I wrote Spectacular Things to explore the tenuous dynamics that siblings—particularly sisters— must often navigate, both together and separately.
This book feels like a love letter to women’s soccer. What’s your own connection to the sport, and what made you want to center this story around it?
I grew up playing soccer and believe my coaches and teammates had a profound impact on my character and work ethic. Some of my best friends today are from my middle school club team, and some of my mantras (“leave your heart on the field” // “the bruises hurt less tomorrow if you know you gave it your all today”) are from Rose Miller, that club team’s coach. After college, I taught 9th grade English and coached soccer at a boarding school, and when I left there to go to Washington, D.C., I joined a team to make friends and feel more connected to the city. So I’ve always loved soccer, but the real reason I wanted to center Spectacular Things around the game is because of the 2019 FIFA World Cup. That U.S. roster, and their performance in the tournament, inspired me to such a degree I knew I wanted to spend more time in that world – and as a writer, I was lucky enough to do just that.
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift” — this quote was a mantra throughout the book. What is your personal take on this? What do you think the Lowes women’s relationship is with this quote?
I love this quotation from Steve Prefontaine because of its relentless relevance. The Lowe women get into trouble when they only apply it to soccer. Instead of seeing “the gift” as a specific talent, I see it as the opportunity of the present moment. So that means I try to apply Steve’s words when I’m on a run, sure, but also when I’m running errands. And to be clear, giving my “best” at Trader Joe’s is less about navigating the packed aisles in record time and much more about smiling at the new mom with a baby strapped to her chest, and thanking the bagger for Tetris-ing my groceries like a pro. It’s about expressing gratitude for your life by living it fully and with kindness – I know, I know, easier said than done, but that’s the beauty of a mantra!
Liz, Mia, and Cricket all face uphill battles in different ways. Do you see them as underdogs? What challenges do you think each of them is trying to overcome throughout the book?
The Lowe women are underdogs in different ways, their battles distinguished by generation. Liz’s childhood is more financially comfortable and, with two parents, at least appears more stable. But Liz’s parents are too wrapped up in themselves to be supportive of their daughter, and so she finds herself desperately lonely until she discovers soccer, which then presents its own joys and disappointments.
Mia and Cricket grow up with a single mom who is hoofing it to make ends meet, but they know she has their back, and they feel her love all the time, regardless of whether she’s watching their game or out late working. Liz also gives them each other – the pricelessness of a sister – in large part because she feels like she missed out by not having one. Despite the love of their tight-knit family, Mia and Cricket are also underdogs because as they emerge as talented young women, the unspoken price tag of competitive soccer and higher education present a challenge. The book mentions “pay to play” in the context of elite soccer, but it also applies to the academic pressure we put on high school students to volunteer or take unpaid summer internships most families can’t afford. So the Lowes are all underdogs, and that ultimately serves them well because it makes them earn their stars and, as I write in the novel, everybody loves an underdog.
What was your journey into fiction like, and what advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Ha! I’m still very much on the journey! My favorite books are all novels, and my go-to genre is contemporary fiction, so in that sense, it seems like a natural evolution. But I’m constantly struck with imposter’s syndrome and concern I’m not doing this thing right because I didn’t go to graduate school and because it takes me so many drafts to figure out what I’m trying to say – all the stuff I tell aspiring writers to ignore. At the end of the day, if you write, you’re a writer. So get writing – for 10 minutes, with a timer, if that makes it seem doable – and go from there. As I often remind Michele, the local elementary school crossing guard who has lived 5 million lives in her 75 years and would like to pen a memoir, you can’t edit what isn’t written down, so just get it down!
Your novel explores big themes like ambition, sacrifice, and motherhood. What message or feeling do you hope readers walk away with?
I hope readers walk away feeling inspired to check in with someone they love who might not live nearby. That probably sounds like a jump from the question, but it’s so easy for us to get caught up with what’s right in front of us – the people, the jobs, the problems, the laundry(!) – but the whole day changes when I get a call from a friend I haven’t been able to see recently. Since becoming a mom three years ago, I would be lying if I didn’t say that, on the majority of days, I most strongly identify as an undercooked scrambled egg. Time gets aways so easily from all of us, which is why even a five-minute check-in with a friend (or a sister!) inflates my heart while grounding my soul. So go call someone you love and tell them you love them! Or better yet, plan a trip to go see them and go to an NWSL game together!
Character Reads: What’s on Circket & Mia’s Nightstand
Perhaps just as revealing as the titles themselves is how each of these books found their way to Cricket and Mia’s nightstands. Since Cricket isn’t much of a reader, I imagine Forward and Tiny Beautiful Things were both gifts from Mia, who knew Wambach’s experience on the soccer field – and the pressure she put on herself to “win” her mother’s love – would resonate with her sister. Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things offers such wisdom in relatively bite-size, grab-and-go essays that it would feel accessible and not intimidating to Cricket. Achieving Excellence would be the one book Cricket picked out for herself for obviously pertinent reasons, especially since Dr. Hacker has served as a sport psychology consultant for the USWNT for decades.
Mia’s bookstack reflects her lifelong love of reading and learning. Despite dropping out of college, Mia continues to peruse her alma mater’s suggested reading lists and has not only befriended all the librarians at Victory Library but has even been invited to join their secret book club. So these titles are just a glimpse into an ever-changing stack of spines, but it makes sense Mia would want to read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s reflection on losing a parent, having already reveled in the rest of her work. Mia would love getting lost in both The Overstory and Pachinko, both sweeping, brilliant sagas that she would appreciate digging into with her book club.
