Author Q&A for Khristi Lauren Adams, author of Parable of the Brown Girl
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? Or what first inspired you to write?
I used to enjoy writing plays and poetry when I was in college. I enjoyed seeing writing come to life on stage. I never thought about writing books until my Pastor (Buster Soaries) wrote his first book and one day said to me in casual conversation, “You know you should write a book.” I remember telling him that I didn’t have anything to write about and didn’t feel like I was an expert in anything. He said, “You write about what you know.” That stuck with me. At the time I didn’t think I knew anything, but I realized that I know what I know from my own experiences. It wasn’t long after that conversation that I wrote my first book.
Where/When do you best like to write?
This is such a hard question! It depends on where I am mentally. My first book (which I self-published), I wrote in my apartment and out on the balcony in the hot sunny California weather, when I was off for the summer from work. This current book, I wrote a week after starting my new position at The Hill, where I was working 12 hour days and weekends. I had to find small windows to write and find spaces to get off campus to myself. I wrote in Starbucks and Panera Bread. I wrote in the school library. I wrote in the back of the classroom when my students were watching an in-class film. I wrote an hour before it was time for me to get dressed to start my day. There was no rhythm to this writing process. I wrote whenever I felt I had the space to.
Do you have any interesting writing habits or superstitions?
I prefer writing in places where there is a lot of “white noise.” There’s something about me being in the center of lots of activity that helps me focus. I also like listening to film scores when I write. I can’t listen to music with lyrics because my mind will start listening to the lyrics. There’s something inspirational about film scores.
When you are struggling to write/have writer’s block, what are some ways that help you find your creative muse again?
When I’m struggling to write in general, I try not to force it. It could be my mind telling me it needs rest. The mind needs time to retain and relax. For this book, I would look to the source of who my book was about for inspiration if I felt stuck. I’d simply have a conversation with a black girl just to hear her thoughts on whatever I was writing about or sometimes just to hear her thoughts on life.
What inspired your book?
My inspiration is the dedication to my book: “For all the black girls who courageously shared their story, their wisdom and their truths with me. Society may put you on the margins, but you are at the center of God’s heart.” The book is written for the black girls who have been unable to give voice to their lived experiences. I say this because I have had many conversations and crossed paths with many black girls who have so much to offer the world, but the world refuses to listen to or see them. I promised myself that if I were ever given the platform, I would place these girls at the center.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
I was amazed by how consistent many of their struggles are with the stories I have heard from other black girls and women inter-generationally. I recognize their struggles and experiences in my own life. As I walked through the Smithsonian African-American History Museum and read about the lives of other black women and girls dating back to the 1500s, the cultural similarities were astonishing. Young black women in contemporary society are confronted with similar issues as many of those who have come before them.
What was your greatest challenge in writing this book?
It was very difficult to find the time to write. Additionally, I found myself very tired from working and I was also grieving when I wrote, after having lost a close friend just a week after I signed my contract. I was experiencing great deal of emotion and found it difficult to push through at times to focus on writing the book.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I love to spend time with family and friends and playing with my dog, Daisy. I used to love training for and running half-marathons. I haven’t had a chance to train since I started working at The Hill School, but I’d love to get back into that at some point. Right now, I work out at a gym called Corefit and I like to do strength training a few times a week there.
Parable of the Brown Girl: The Sacred Lives of Girls of Color
by Khristi Lauren Adams
Release Date: February 4, 2020
Publisher: Fortress Press
Blurb: The stories of girls of color are often overlooked, unseen, and ignored rather than valued and heard. In Parable of the Brown Girl (adult nonfiction), readers are introduced to the resilience, struggle, and hope held within these stories. Instead of relegating these young women of color to the margins, Adams brings their stories front and center where they belong.
By sharing encounters she’s had with girls of color that revealed profound cultural, historical and spiritual truths, Adams magnifies the struggles, dreams, wisdom, and dignity of these voices. Thought-provoking and inspirational, Parable of the Brown Girl is a powerful example of how God uses the narratives we most often ignore to teach us the most important lessons in life. It’s time to pay attention.
About the Author
Author website: https://khristilaurenadams.
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/
Twitter link: https://twitter.com/
LinkedIn link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/
PRAISE
“Parable of the Brown Girl serves as a critical reminder that what we believe to be strength and resilience among black girls is often their fear, uncertainty, and vulnerability masked. It is essential reading for teachers, principals, administrators, parents, counselors, after-school program leaders, and anyone seeking to better understand the lives, complexities, and brilliance of black girls.” —Tiffany Gill, founder of Black Girls Unscripted
“In Parable of the Brown Girl, Adams introduces us to brown girls by name, skillfully setting their personal stories against everyday stereotypes, turning them and us on our heads to see how Scripture shows us all a better way to see one another fully.” —Kathy Khang, speaker and author of Raise Your Voice
“Parable of the Brown Girl centers the stories of black girls in ways that engage the reader to reflect on the lived experiences of girls of color. Adams’ writing shows us all that the imago Dei resides within these girls and that we get to know God better when we truly see, nurture, and uplift black girls.” —Rozella Haydée White, Theologian, Coach, Speaker and Author of Love Big: The Power of Revolutionary Relationships to Heal the World
Sounds like an important book. Thanks for sharing it!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…Bite-Sized Reviews of Don’t Read the Comments, Find Me Their Bones, Snug, and The Real Boy
Good interview!