FAQ
On Love the One You’re With
What was your inspiration for this book—a story about “The One Who Got Away”? I think most of us have a “one who got away”—someone from the past who captured our imagination. This is the person we Google late at night, wonder “what if” about—and for better or worse, use as a measuring stick for all other relationships. Often this relationship happens when we are young—so sometimes it’s hard to distinguish that intense time in our lives from the actual person and relationship. The lines can be really blurry. I wanted to explore this universal phenomenon—but do so in a nuanced way. In other words, what can happen when the past and present collide and the choice isn’t clear cut? What does it mean if we’re not completely over an ex? And is it possible to love two people at once? Ultimately this is a story of one woman’s inward struggle, her quest to to reconcile her sense of love and loyalty to her family with her own individual happiness. In the end, she has to make hard choice.
You set this book in Atlanta, where you now reside? What was that experience like for you? I didn’t think much of it—until the book was published and I was shocked to learn that some of my characterizations of Atlanta offended some residents. For one, I didn’t think I was depicting the South in an unfavorable light. Further, the story is not autobiographical. It is Ellen’s view of Atlanta, not mine.