My friends are my lifeline. Letโs be honest, who else can you commiserate with
when youโre having a bad hair day? Husbands just donโt get it. Not to mention,
most of them are losing their hair anyway. All kidding aside, the special
moments shared with friends are what get us through the most difficult times in
life. Without them, weโd be lost.
Imagine then what it would be like if your best friend was murdered and you
were left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. This monthโs
Jenโs Jewels Julie Buxbaum does just
that in her compelling new release
AFTER YOU. Masterfully written, she makes the reader stop and
thinkโฆ how well do you
really know the ones you love?
As part of this interview
The Dial Press, a division of
Random House, has generously donated five copies for you, my
lucky readers, to win. So, donโt forget to look for the trivia question at the
end of the interview. And as always, thanks for making
Jenโs Jewels a part of your
reading adventure.
Jen: Some of my readers may recognize your name as the author of
THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE which
has been translated into eighteen languages and opted to film by Twentieth
Century Fox. Quite impressive for a first-time novelist! For those readers
unfamiliar with your work, please tell us about your educational and
professional background prior to becoming a novelist.
Julie: I sort of backed into my career as a novelist. I
was a litigator before becoming a writer, but found myself completely
unfulfilled. As part of a New Yearโs Resolution, I finally got up the courage
to quit my job and to start writing that novel I had always talked about. As
for educational background, I went to the University of Pennsylvania, where I
studied Political Science, Philosophy, and Economics, and then later graduated
from Harvard Law School. Sadly, I never took advantage of the opportunity to
study literature, which is something I have to confess I deeply regret. That
said, I do think law school and practicing law has really informed my writing,
both in good ways and in bad.
Jen: In your second release entitled
AFTER YOU, you tackle the
complexity of friendship, marriage, love, and the healing nature of literature.
First of all, how did you arrive at the premise?
Julie: I was really interested in looking at the question of how well we
actually know the people we love. I think my choosing the topic had a lot to do
with where I was in my life at the time; I had just gotten engaged to my now-
husband, and it suddenly occurred to me that a basic tenet of human
relationships is the fact that we can never really know what goes on in other
peopleโs heads.
AFTER
YOU provided the perfect opportunity for me to create a situation where one
characterโin this case Ellieโgets the unique opportunity to step into the life
of her best friend, and see behind that opaque curtain.
Jen: Your main character, Ellie Lerner, is a typical thirty-something
woman struggling to balance her marriage and professional career. Yet the
unthinkable happens when her best friend Lucy, who is living in London, is
murdered. Lucyโs husband Greg and her eight year old daughter Sophie are left
behind to share their grief with Ellie. How is Lucyโs death a direct hit to
Ellieโs fragility in her own perception of self-worth?
Julie: I think Lucyโs death is direct hit to Ellieโs identity. For
better or worse, a lot of women find their self-worth and identity through
their various relationships: mother, daughter, wife, sister, and best friend,
whatever the case may be. As the novel progresses we learn that Ellie is in
fact suffering a double loss, as she has lost a baby two years before the
opening of the book. She doesnโt think of herself as a mother, feels her role
as a wife is slipping, and now finds that she is completely lost without her
best friend.
Jen: As the story unfolds, Ellie chooses to stay in London to help
Sophie adjust to the cruel reality that her mother is gone forever. On the
flipside, Ellieโs husband Phillip is left behind in the U.S. pining away for
his wife. Why does she choose to box her husband out? Would it be fair to say
that this decision is a deliberate move to run away from her life?
Julie: Absolutely. At first the reader is led to believe that Ellie is
this incredible martyr, giving up everything to help the fragile and adorable
Sophie. But as time goes on, the reader begins to suspect that the reality is
much more complex than that. No doubt Ellie loves Sophie, and feels a real
responsibility as her godmother, but there is also no doubt that Ellie is a
woman on the run from her own demons.
Jen: As part of the healing process, Ellie chooses to read to Sophie her
favorite childhood book, THE SECRET GARDEN. On a personal level, what
significance does it have in your life?
Julie: THE SECRET GARDEN is by far my favorite book of all time. I must
have read it at least two hundred times at this point. Itโs the one book I turn
to purely for therapeutic reasons. When Iโm going through a rough time, its
exploration of redemption and self-healing and magic always manages to restore
me. In
AFTER YOU, the
book serves as a literary vehicleโEllie and Sophieโs story very much mirrors
the experiences of Mary in THE SECRET GARDENโbut it was also a great excuse to
give readers the opportunity to revisit that great book.
Jen: In terms of the characters, what particular aspect of the book
becomes the common bond that links these two wounded souls, Ellie and Sophie,
together?
Julie: I think Ellie and Sophie both relate to Mary, the main character
of THE SECRET GARDEN. Sheโs lost in very much way the two of them are. The book
opens with Maryโs orphaning, and suddenly she feels unmoored and without a
single friend in the world. I think this essential loneliness is something we
all experience and some point or another.
Jen: Sadly, Ellie comes to learn that her best friend Lucy was not the
person she thought her to be. Isnโt it so true that oftentimes, we put our
dearest friends up on a pedestal only choosing to see their strengths and
turning a blind eye to their faults? How was Lucyโs death an unforeseen
opportunity for Ellie to take a step back and evaluate the authenticity of her
personal relationships?
Julie: Ellie is given this extreme opportunity to actually get to know
the deepest secrets (and insecurities too) of her closest friend. Although it
is frightening to not be able to ever truly know those we love, I sometimes
wonder if this is a blessing. Maybe itโs better to turn that blind eye as you
say, or to put it more positively to allow for that added bit of mystery. We
donโt like to be reminded that we all are, at the end of the day, flawed human
beings. That being said, I donโt think Ellieโs relationship with Lucy was any
less authentic despite Lucyโs secrets.
Jen: Tacking onto the last question, what was the most life-changing
discovery she was forced to confront?
Julie: By seeing behind Lucyโs curtain, I think Ellie is forced to
confront her own demons as well, and to own up to her own fears and
inadequacies.
Jen: Without a doubt, Lucyโs husband Greg mourns not only the loss of
his wife, but also the absence of his daughterโs mother. Why does he welcome
Ellie into his home? Is she just a buffer due to his lack of parental know-how,
or does he see her as an extension of Lucy?
Julie: What a good question. I donโt think he necessarily sees Ellie as
an extension of Lucy; I think he is simply a man in over his head. He
recognizes that he needs all the help he can get.
Jen: The subplot of Ellieโs parents and their marital woes lends to the
issue of lack of stability in her core familial unit. What vulnerabilities are
commonplace in all of their lives? Who is the strongest family member and why?
Julie: Certainly, Ellie has inherited the running gene from her mother.
As for who is the strongest family member, I donโt know. They are each strong
in their unique ways. It seems to me all families are their own bizarrely
balanced ecosystems.
Jen: Without giving too much away, how does Ellie finally come to terms
with the woman she has become?
Julie: This is a question that haunted me throughout the writing of
AFTER YOU: what happens
when we meet our adult selves and they donโt necessarily match our
expectations. For Ellie, she no doubt experiences a sort of reckoning by the
end of the novel, and a desire to do better, but whether she comes to fully
accept the woman she has become is something I donโt really know. I am not sure
how any of us ever gets there.
Jen: Letโs talk about your promotional plans. Do you have a website?
Will there be a Reading Group Guide available for book clubs? Do you
participate in author phone chats? And if so, how would my readers go about
scheduling one?
Julie: I do have a website: www.juliebuxbaum.com so please come visit.
You can download a Reading Group Guide for book clubs for both
AFTER YOU and
THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE. And
I love to do author phone chats with reading groups! Itโs such a fun way to
connect directly with readers. I can be contacted via a form on my website or
just by clicking the contact me link on the siteโif you are in a book club,
email me and weโll set up a time to chat!
Jen: Are you currently at work on your next novel? And if so, what can
you share with us?
Julie: I am at work on my next novel, but I am way too superstitious to
talk about it this early. I always feel like discussing a work, particularly
when itโs still in its infancy, can somehow jinx it. Completely irrational, I
know.
Jen: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat
with my readers. I absolutely loved
AFTER YOU. What a fabulous read! Best of luck with the book tour!
And, please stop by again soon.
Julie: Thank you so much for having me!
I hope you have enjoyed my interview with Julie Buxbaum. Please stop by your
favorite bookstore or local library branch and pick up a copy of
AFTER YOU today. Better
yet, how would you like to win one? Answer the following trivia questions and
you could be One of Five winners.
Name the
title of Julieโs first book.
Later this month, I will be bringing to you my interview with
Fern Nichols, founder of
Moms in Touch International. You wonโt want to miss
it.
Until next time...Jen
© 2003-2026