Jami Attenberg's sixth novel, All Grown Up, is her best yet. It features Andrea, a heroine who is tackling adulthood on her own terms, in New York City. At 39-years-old, she is single, childfree, and wondering how to successfully go through the motions of adulthood even though everyone around her has a different concept of what being an 'adult' truly is.
Jami goes on to explain her process into creating Andrea's character, "I guess she's sort of a train wreck, I just think she's really human and flawed and maybe has led a different kind of path than other people have led. She definitely drinks a lot but has a good time until it becomes a bad time. A lot of the things she is doing reflects on her past." Jami wanted to be as open, and as honest as possible so readers can relate to the content.
Jami opened up about how she struggled when she started working on the novel. "I didn't even want to write this at first," Jami admits. "I was writing about the characters going through typical adult experiences but then I thought I don't want to write this. I didn't know if I wanted to write a book about being a single, child-free woman because I feel like that comes up a lot. So what I did instead was write 100 pages of a ghost story, which didn't turn out well, but it turned into a great exercise for me because the characters from All Grown Up showed up in that ghost story."
Jami, who, with hilarity and honesty, tells the story of an adult woman who wants what she wants, not what she's supposed to want. You will find this novel highly relatable, unflinchingly honest, smart, and written with a character who you would want as your new best friend!
The episode also features what Jami's reading now, her favorite book of all time, what she read as a child, and her upcoming move from New York City to New Orleans. You can follow Jami's journey on her Instagram and Twitter!