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J. Courtney Sullivan discusses her forthcoming novel Saints for All Occasions, alongside EW’s exclusive cover reveal.
EW is also thrilled to revealSaints for All Occasionsscover in advance of its May 9 publication.
Credit: Michael Lionstar
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Where did the idea for this book come from?J.
This one came from lots of places.
Then there was a conversation with a childhood friend about hallmarks of the Irish American experience.
It came most of all from my fascination with nuns.
Ive met many nuns in my life, the jot down who work in schools or hospitals.
But Id never met a contemplative before.
From the first time we spoke, I adored Mother Lucia.
Its a story about a cloistered nun coming home to her family for the first time in fifty years.
She is coming home for a wake.
Half the family doesnt know she exists.
This book offered a lot of opportunities to do that.
I went back to Miltown Malbay and interviewed men and women who would be the age of my characters.
The most immersive part of my research was my time spent at the abbey.
I visited on two occasions for long conversations with Mother Lucia.
(The nuns do not talk on the telephone, and only email sparingly.
They communicate mostly through letters.)
The abbey is an incredible place.
They have former politicians, bankers, artists of all kinds in their ranks.
Moments that defied understanding.
Ive always been drawn to older women.
From being around her, I understand that much of ones personality isnt about age at all.
Shes open to learning new things.
Her sister Nora, less so.
I really enjoyed exploring how she came to be that way.
Her sister, the nun, was coming back to bury her after a long estrangement.
But it wasnt working.
The bullseye is harder to hit, of course, but its so much more satisfying when you do.
What themes were you most interested in exploring?Writers tend to return again and again to certain obsessions.
Its a novel about motherhood and social class and the dangers of repression.
As a novelist (and a feminist), how are you dealing with the political climate right now?
Will it influence your future work?Absolutely.
I hadnt ever thought of it in those terms, but it made me happy to hear.
That is a reflection of our world.
Books about families complicated by difference.
Writing stories can feel frivolous at a moment like this.
But stories are a path to understanding the experiences of others.
(Is it any surprise that Trumpa man who stokes fear by making difference the enemydoes not read?)
Like a lot of people, I am stunned, saddened, and determined to fight.
Every writer I know is wrestling with how and what to write now.
This is a time to be outspoken.
Being a writer affords me the privilege of having control over my time.
I am five months pregnant, which makes our current political reality all the more horrifying.
