Welcome Jenny Mattern – Author of Where the Light Shines In
“If there’s one thing my thirteen years of life have taught me, it’s that having parents who love you doesn’t erase the somebody else who brought you into the world.”
Despite being adopted into a loving family, thirteen-year-old Gloria feels as if her life is a bit too much like the crossword puzzles she and her dad enjoy solving together: too many empty spaces and not enough clues.
For as long as she can remember, Gloria has studied the faces of random women in the hopes of finding her birth mother. But when she finally lands on the perfect candidate, it’s in a place she never could have expected–an obituary photo. Determined to learn more about this dead woman who looks just like her, Gloria embarks on a secret mission to fill in the gaps of her origin story.
At first, finding answers about her past feels exactly right. But as the lies Gloria tells keep piling up, and as each step toward her biological family takes her farther from the parents who have loved her forever, she starts to wonder if she’ll ever be able to fill her empty spaces. Because how can you feel truly whole when you’re shattering from the inside out?
QUESTIONS FROM KIDS
Why did you put Gloria, Dani, and Amanda in the situations they’re in?
What a great question! Since this issue of Nimblewitlit is on the theme of choices, I’ll start there. Throughout our lives, the choices we make obviously have an impact on our lives. But sometimes others’ choices—the ones we have no control over—can also affect us deeply. As is the case for Gloria, some of those choices might even happen before we’re born.
When I started writing this novel, I knew it was going to be a book about an adoptee searching for her roots. I also knew I didn’t want to shy away from the complicated emotions surrounding the issue of adoption. Crafting a story with so many big, important feelings at play—and doing so with sensitivity and empathy—proved to be trickier than I thought. One way I set out to tackle that was by making Gloria and Dani and Amanda as three-dimensional as possible. In real life, everyone involved in an adoption is always a whole person with their own story and their own “stuff” they’re carrying, just like all of us. I tried to keep that in mind as these three characters confront different situations throughout the story. In the case of Amanda, that was a little harder since she’s already dead when we meet her in chapter three, but even her past choices have ripples that continue to affect Dani’s and Gloria’s lives.
Would you like to live on an island?
YES!! Living on an island is a long-held dream of mine! I actually got to be an island-dweller for three wonderful months many years ago when I did my student teaching on San Juan Island. There’s something about living in a place that’s only accessible by boat or plane that is downright magical.
Do you have any more books coming?
I sure hope so! I have a couple other completed manuscripts waiting in the wings and I’m also working on something new right now that’s really fun (and different from Where the Light Shines In).
Do you have pets or any kids?
I have 5 kids—4 girls and a boy. All of them are grown up except for one, and she starts high school this year. I also have 5 pets—2 dogs named Maylee and Perry and 3 cats named Charley, Gary, and Kate. (Kate is named after my favorite children’s author, Kate DiCamillo). All the pets are rescue animals except for Perry, who is the most cantankerous (and most beloved) little shih tzu you’ve ever seen.
Do you have a favorite author or book?
If you read the answer above, you’ll already know that I am a huge Kate DiCamillo fan. Everything of hers that I’ve read has been wonderful, but I think Raymie Nightingale might be my favorite. Another favorite of mine is a memoir by a woman named M. Wylie Blanchet called The Curve of Time. I also really love The Hunger Games and have read it multiple times.
QUESTIONS FROM THE EDITORS
How does the theme of choice affect Gloria?
Humans are faced with an average of 35,000 choices a day, from whether to hit snooze one more time to what shirt we’re going to wear to how we’re going to respond when someone hurts us. For as long as she can remember, Gloria has been searching the faces of strangers in the hopes of finding her birth mom. When she comes across a face that looks uncannily like her own and is confronted with a choice to ignore it or to dig deeper, she doesn’t hesitate. To her, it’s a no-brainer to do whatever it takes to find out more about this woman, even if it means going against her parents’ wishes.
What motivates Gloria to make the choices she does?
Sometimes we want something so badly that it clouds our judgment and we end up making unwise decisions. In Gloria’s case, her strong desire to know where she comes from is a driving force behind the choices she makes throughout the book. Unfortunately, sometimes this overwhelming need to know about her roots outweighs her common sense and practical nature, which ends up getting her into some sticky situations.
Does Gloria have any friends or family she can go to when she needs help making big decisions?
She does! Gloria has a ride-or-die best friend in Lottie, who’s been a loyal sidekick since they were seven years old. Lottie is strong and sassy and independent, which is the perfect balance to Gloria’s practical, gentle, rule-follower personality. In addition to Lottie, she also has parents who love her unconditionally. And if they go a little overboard in overprotectiveness sometimes, it’s because Gloria
is their everything.
Does Gloria regret any of the choices she makes?
There’s a moment in the story where Gloria realizes the gravity of some of the choices she’s been making and it definitely affects her. But regret? That’s hard to say. As many of us know from experience, even our bad choices sometimes end up taking us to good places. While Gloria might not go back and do things differently, she absolutely regrets the hurt she brings to her loved ones because
of her choices.
What inspired you to write this book?
My youngest daughter is adopted. She came to us as a 3-week-old foster baby and officially joined our family just before her second birthday. Working with social services and caseworkers, meeting other adoptive families, and later, making a point to really listen to the stories of adult adoptees all gave me insight into just how complicated and messy adoption is, especially for the most innocent party—the adoptee. Ultimately, it’s because of my experiences as an adoptive mom that I decided to write Where the Light Shines In.
Do you see any of yourself in Gloria?
I think Gloria is braver than I was at thirteen, but she also has people-pleasing tendencies, which I can definitely relate to. And she is fiercely loyal to her family and friends, as I am.
Would you have made the same choices as Gloria in her situation?
I’m pretty sure I would have made many of the same choices Gloria makes throughout the story. I am an intensely curious person, so there’s no way I could stumble upon my doppelgänger in the obituaries and just ignore it. If I were in Gloria’s shoes and thought it might lead to answers about my birth family, you better believe I would be following the trail of clues.
How do you decide what the right thing to do is in your own life?
I have always had a very strong inner compass, combined with a solid inability to live with the guilt of wrongdoing. As a kid, if I did something wrong, there was a very good chance I was going to tell my parents about it before they had time to find out. That still serves me well, as it keeps me exceedingly honest. (I really don’t like to have to ‘fess up!) ☺️ And when I’m faced with a big decision that doesn’t necessarily have a right or wrong answer, I always listen to my gut. I’m a big believer in trusting your gut.
If Gloria could talk to the readers of your book, what advice would she give them?
I think she would probably tell readers that sometimes you have to do the things that make sense for you, even if others don’t agree. She would be quick to add that if you’re a kid, you should do a better job of talking to your parents than she did. Sometimes it takes a while for them to understand things from your point of view, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep trying!
THANK YOU FOR JOINING NIMBLEWITLIT FOR OUR ISSUE ON CHOICES
You can thank Jenny by checking out her book online, in stores, and by requesting it at your local library!