For 31 years you focused on being a clinical psychologist. When you retired in 1992, was being an author of children's books your first choice of what you wanted to do with the rest of your life?
Sandra: Absolutely! I have always loved to write and I think psychologists and writers actually have a lot in common: we both use words to encourage and influence people in positive and meaningful ways. When you hear a writer say, "I can't not write," it is more than a truism--it's the truth! And I knew that I wanted to write for children because I wanted to reach children before they ended up needing the services of a psychotherapist later on.
What inspired you to write "If You Had to Choose, What Would You Do?" (published in 1995 by Prometheus Books). How does the book help children to explore their personal values and create their own code of moral conduct?
Sandra: During my last ten years as a clinical psychologist, I found myself working with more and more young people who had no goals or aspirations, no sense of who they were, and who were already "burned out"--not from drugs but from life itself. I wrote my first book "If You Had to Choose, What Would You Do?" to hopefully get kids thinking and talking about important moral issues so that they could begin to develop a real sense of identity--a sense of who they were and what they believed. Just as we build strong physical muscle by doing "sets" and "reps," I wanted to help my young readers build strong moral muscle by "rehearsing" the moral choices they would make in difficult moral situations before they actually encountered those situations in real life. My book gives the readers the opportunity to do this because they are asked what they would do in each of the 25 problem scenarios depicted in the book and then they are also asked to think about the thought questions at the end of each story.
In 1999, the same publisher accepted your book "It's Up to You.. What Do You Do?" What challenging situations do you offer school-age children?
Sandra: I wrote the second book using the same format as the first book, only with different story scenarios, because parents and teachers loved the open-ended format so much. In most cases, there are no "right" or "wrong" answers per se, but rather the reader is encouraged to think about different alternative actions and to weigh the pros and cons of each. It is the "process" that is important, and all the stories entail making choices based on moral principles such as kindness, compassion, honesty, respect for others, good sportsmanship, etc.
You've written a young adult novel about a 13-year-old girl named Leslie who was experiencing a difficult time having enrolled in a new school. Tell us how she finds support through a "life group" at her church.
Sandra: Leslie is feeling very much alone and no longer sure she believes in God. The reader is invited to come along and join her on her faith journey as she begins to find answers to some of her questions. I based Leslie's questions on the questions the kids in my confirmation classes asked, so they are very real questions. For some of her questions, she does indeed discover satisfying answers, but for some of her questions, there are no here-and-now answers and she begins to understand the nature of faith. By the end of the book, she feels very comfortable with the personal relationship she has developed with God and, at this point, no one can tell her there is no God.
With "Dare to Dream!: 25 Extraordinary Lives," also published by Prometheus Books, you present a collection of biographies of real life heroes. It's obvious that you wanted to motivate your young readers. What other messages were you trying to get across?
Sandra:I think all my books are essentially about "strong character" in some sense. So many of my young patients were afraid to deal with their psychological pain that they purposely mutilated their own bodies by cutting or burning themselves because they could deal more comfortably with the physical pain than with the psychological pain and the physical pain gave them a temporary respite from their psychological pain. What I want my readers to understand is that pain is just as much a part of life as is joy and that the way we handle our pain can make all the difference in the world--we either become stronger in the process or we opt out and never do learn how to face up to our challenges. All the people in "Dare to Dream" had great obstacles to overcome, but in every case they persevered through their adversity and emerged victorious--becoming stronger people in the process.
What heroes did you feel strongest to include?
Sandra: I'm always for the "underdog," so I loved including people like Arthur Ashe who broke the racial barriers in tennis and Jackie Robinson who did the same in baseball. In both cases, they met their challenges with such personal integrity that they are without a doubt authentic role models for all of us. I also tried to include people of both sexes and from all ethnic backgrounds so that as many readers as possible could find someone with whom they could identify.
Tell us about the feedback you've received from your readers on any one or all of your books.
Sandra: I have received some really wonderful feedback from my readers, but my all-time favorite feedback is from a young girl in Chicago. I wrote my middle-grade chapter book "In the Beginning" (not yet published) when I began receiving weekly letters from a young girl in Chicago whose school I had visited. As she told me how the other girls in her class taunted and tormented her, I knew I had to write about her pain. The dedication page reads:
To Annie and young people everywherewho every day meet their challenges withpersonal integrity and courage.
Megan, the protagonist in the book, is similarly taunted, bullied, and humiliated but she manages to form a club with all the "uncool" and "leftover" kids who don't fit in anywhere else. And, in the end, she discovers that she is not just a survivor but a leader as well.
I sent Annie a copy of the book and she wrote back from Chicago telling me it was "the best book ever," and that she keeps it under her pillow. Who could ask for a better review than that!
Which book are you most proud of?
Sandra: I like all my books for different reasons, but I really hope that "Dare to Dream!: 25 Extraordinary Lives" will encourage all kids everywhere to follow their hearts and never give up their dreams. And I especially hope it will touch those kids who may be feeling like "losers" and may have perhaps already given up their dreams.
What was your publishing experience like? Did you feel you had a less difficult time getting published because you were a professional?
Sandra: It took me three years to find a publisher who was "in sync" with me and understood what I was trying to do through my books. I don't think being a psychologist really made the publishing process any easier or it wouldn't have taken me three years to find a publisher.
How do you promote your book?
Sandra: I think it's through great sites like yours which help us network with other authors and readers, and it's through books like "The Frugal Book Promoter" by Carolyn Howard-Jones, "Book Marketing from A-Z" by Francine Silverman, and "The Shy Writer" by C. Hope Clark which keep us revved up and ready to try new ideas. I think it's all about helping each other however we can whenever we can.
What are you currently working on?
Sandra: I'm working on a middle-grade novel "Letters from Camp" which is brimming over with characters reminiscent of my young patients. There's Jennifer the anorexic, Rachel the cutter, Andrea the budding hypochondriac, and Kim with all her self-image problems. These characters have become so real to me that sometimes I find the camp director, Mrs. A, at my breakfast table shoveling sugar into her tea or rummaging through my fridge looking for avocados for her guacamole dip.And I frequently find Tricia, the young black girl who longs to have her own garden amidst the chaos of the inner city, just wandering around my backyard smelling the flowers.Sometimes I even run into Cynthia Winston, the villain of the piece, right in my own bathroom--usurping the bathroom mirror while she preens and gives me her little Mona Lisa half-smile.
My hope is that each young person who reads this book will come away knowing that no matter how overwhelming their problems may seem at the time, they are never alone and that there is always help and there is always hope.
