Q&A with Anna Johnston

  

 

 

Anna Johnston is the author of the new novel When Lemons Give You Life. She also has written the novel The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife. She lives in Melbourne, Australia. 

 

Q: How much did your own experiences working in residential care homes inspire you to write When Lemons Give You Life?

 

A: Working in aged care gave me a front-row seat to both the challenges and the extraordinary humanity that exist within those communities. I met remarkable residents, families and caregivers whose resilience, humor, and capacity for love stayed with me long after I left work each day.

 

While When Lemons Give You Life is entirely fictional, its emotional heart is deeply rooted in those experiences.

 

One of the most confronting things I witnessed was how easily residents—particularly those living with dementia, including my grandfather—could become invisible. They were often spoken about rather than spoken to, defined by what they had lost instead of everything they still were.

 

Every resident I met had a lifetime of stories, relationships, triumphs and regrets, and I wanted to write a novel that challenged readers to look beyond the diagnosis and see the person behind it.

 

I also witnessed just how profoundly something as simple as food could shape a person’s quality of life.

 

Like music, a thoughtfully prepared meal could spark conversation, awaken memories and bring people together, while poor-quality, joyless food could deepen withdrawal and rob people of one of the few pleasures they still had. That contrast stayed with me and became one of the novel’s central inspirations.

 

Though one staff member was inspired by someone I worked with, the nursing home in the book is intentionally the most negligent imaginable—an exaggerated fictional outlier.

 

It doesn’t reflect the countless real homes where attentive, devoted and hardworking staff provide compassionate, dignified care every day. I want to honor their work while exploring what can happen when a system fails the people inside it.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between your character Griff and his sister, Lisa?

 

A: Griff and Lisa are connected by love but divided by perspective. They experienced the same childhood through completely different lenses, and long-held family secrets and misunderstandings have shaped the way they see one another.

 

Much of the novel explores how easily the people we love most can misinterpret our actions when we don’t know the whole story.

 

On paper they are opposites––Griff is ordered, rough, and closed off, while Lisa is chaotic, emotional, and empathetic. In the present day, Griff is largely unable to communicate, so their relationship unfolds less through conversation than through memory, gesture and the gradual uncovering of the past.

 

As readers move between the present and the flashbacks, they begin to understand that beneath years of hurt and misunderstanding, Griff and Lisa have always desperately wanted the same thing: to be seen, understood and loved by each other.

 

Q: Can you say more about why you decided to have food be a major part of the novel?

 

A: I’m a passionate home cook, food, for me, is among life’s purest joys and one of our oldest languages. When my children were born, I taught myself to make elaborate themed cakes for their birthdays and even went on to make a three-tiered cake covered in handmade sugar flowers for my brother-in-law’s wedding.

 

I was often told I should turn my cake making into a business, but for me, baking was always about personal connection and love and the joy on someone’s face when they saw my creation. Food tells people they matter.

 

Q: You’ve spoken about how you developed a cooking program for widowed older men, and the impact it had on them—can you tell us more about that?

 

A: Flavors unlocked memories—childhood kitchens, family tables, holiday feasts. Many went from barely eating, or relying on Meals on Wheels, to proudly hosting the family Sunday roast dinner.

 

This remains one of the most joyful measures of success I have ever witnessed. My years working in nursing homes echoed the same quiet truth: thoughtfully prepared meals could gather people together across grief, illness, and time, and return a vital sense of self.

 

Sadly, the quality of food in many aged care homes falls heartbreakingly short of the ideal, with alarmingly low daily food budget in some facilities, resulting in high rates of malnutrition and meals that are often poor quality and monotonous, deepening withdrawal, dulling appetite, and stripping daily routines of pleasure and agency.

 

In nursing homes, where so much is controlled and pared back, good food can be transformative—and in this story, it becomes a way back into the world.

 

It’s not only essential for physical and mental health —it’s a universal vessel of care, and I wanted to celebrate its emotional and sensory power while inviting readers to imagine what dignity really tastes like.

 

Writing a book about food also provided some wonderful opportunities, like taste testing as many lemon tarts as possible (all in the name of research of course)!

 

Q: The author Matt Cain called the novel a “gorgeous, moving, life-affirming tale of second chances, redemption and the power of love in its many forms.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I was incredibly touched by Matt’s words. He’s an author whose books I really admire, who does great work in queer and neurodivergent spaces, so receiving such generous praise meant a great deal.

 

What I love most about his description is that it captures the heart of what I hoped to achieve. At its core, the novel is about believing that it’s never too late to change, to forgive, to love, or to find happiness in unexpected places. If readers come away feeling hopeful, then I’ve done what I set out to do.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m currently working on my third novel, The Last Milkman, which is set on a dairy farm.

 

At its core, it’s about the importance of slowing down and returning to a more human pace in a world that’s becoming increasingly fast, digital, and instant. It’s exploring themes of community, purpose, and connection, and asking what we lose when we forget to make time for one another.

 

I’m having a wonderful time getting to know this new cast of characters, and I can’t wait to share them with readers.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Anna Johnston. 

Q&A with Virginia Shaffer

  

 

 

Virginia Shaffer is the author of the new book Oyster Society: Adventures with the Shellfishly Motivated. She is the founder of Lady Oyster Tours & Tastings, and she lives in Bath, Maine. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Oyster Society?

 

A: Oyster Society began as a very simple food curiosity! I had such an insatiable hankering for oysters, I’d refer to myself as a “raw bar fly” at Boston seafood restaurants.

 

But what sparked the journey was a cold call to an oyster farmer on a whim. I wanted to more deeply understand aquaculture practices as a consumer. That freezing January day in knee-high saltwater launched an oyster odyssey that would change my life forever. 

 

Q: What would you say are some of the most common perceptions and misconceptions about oysters?

 

A: “Is the “R” rule true?” This is my favorite question at the table in my current work as an oyster sommelier. This rule suggests that oysters should only be eaten in months with an “R.” It is often assumed that oysters in warmer months can be dangerous for human consumption.

 

This best-kept rumor was invented in 1566, in Colchester, England. It was an era without refrigeration, water quality testing, and modern aquaculture practices. It was also a time when oysters were harvested from wild reefs, and needed summer’s spawning months to repopulate oysters for the next harvest year. 

 

Today, there’s so much water quality testing where we have oyster aquaculture. We can also keep bacteria from being a concern for humans with proper temperature control measures after harvest (in refrigerators).

 

My advice? Eat from a trusted restaurant, and if you’d like to recreationally harvest, check your local water closures and regulations first!

 

Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: There are a great number of oyster books, historians, marine science research papers, and environmental nonprofits who helped me source great research to support the stories I was writing.

 

But much of who I interviewed was through word of mouth and my own personal journey. “Have you chatted with the Reids on Vancouver Island?” or “Let me call Jack and tell him to come to the bar. You need to meet him.” 

 

There are so many prominent people doing incredible work in oysters. This book only captures a small handful! But it was true to my story, who I was meeting, and the people who I thought captured a very special lens on the industry.

 

I was so surprised by the complexity of this food system, which was layered with eccentric characters, vivid backdrops, and strong values.

 

Some of the most intimate conversations around restoring Black maritime history, rebuilding indigenous food sources, and trusting wild fisheries to support climate initiatives, really gave me pause and reflection. Before the book, I had never investigated a specific food so deeply through the perspective of human identity, culture, and history.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write the book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

 

A: If you’ve ever found yourself in a bizarre position, where everything you’ve ever worked for is at stake and you’re about to annihilate a 15-year career, that’s where you’ll find me towards the end of Oyster Society!

 

It was hugely impactful on my life. About halfway through writing the book, I couldn’t omit how the people in oysters were changing every part of me. I want readers to see my unraveling and vulnerability as a way for them to confront and process their own fears of change, whatever that may be.

 

This book carries stories of entrepreneurs who turned life upside-down for a bivalve, and survived to tell the tale. I hope that if they find themselves where I once was, that this book gives them more courage to take the plunge.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: After completing the book, I launched a business! Today, I am building Maine’s first team of oyster sommeliers, who are storytelling and imparting taste appreciation to Mainers and visitors alike.

 

It’s a way in which I can continue what Oyster Society started: a deep appreciation for our human ecology in relation to oysters, a new noble purpose in life, and celebrating a food that’s an unsung hero for ocean health.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Alec Litowitz

  

 

 

Alec Litowitz is the author of the new book The Adaptability Quotient: Rewiring Your Mind for Success in the Next Human Era. He is the founder of QStar Capital. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Adaptability Quotient?

 

A: I never set out to write a book. I spent more than 30 years building investment firms, beginning as one of the original partners at Citadel and later founding Magnetar Capital, where success depended on making decisions when the future could not be modeled with certainty.

 

When I stepped away in 2022 and AI began reshaping how we think and work, I realized the same adaptive principles that had guided my career were suddenly becoming essential for everyone.

 

The Adaptability Quotient is my attempt to make that way of thinking explicit—a practical framework for navigating a world where change is accelerating faster than certainty.

 

Q: What role do you see adaptability playing in decision-making?

 

A: Life isn't a series of known probabilities; it's a series of changing realities. Too many people approach uncertainty as if it were simply risk, trying to optimize when the real challenge is learning, updating, and adapting as new information emerges.

 

AQ is the discipline of making decisions right over time rather than trying to make the perfect decision once. It's not about avoiding mistakes—it's about updating faster than the world changes around you.

 

Q: How do you see AI affecting human adaptability and decision-making?

 

A: AI is the first technology that doesn't simply process information—it participates in meaning-making. That's why I believe we're entering a Second Cognitive Revolution, where the greatest changes will occur not only in what we produce but in how we think.

 

Used well, AI dramatically expands our capability by widening the set of possibilities we can explore. The danger is allowing it to replace judgment rather than augment it. My rule is simple: use AI to widen the option set, but never outsource the verdict.

 

Q: What impact did writing this book have on you, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

 

A: Writing the book changed how I understood my own career. I thought I had spent 30 years building investment firms, but looking back I realized I had really spent 30 years studying adaptation under uncertainty.

 

My hope is that readers come away with a practical operating system for thinking: understanding their own biases, exploring multiple explanations before committing to one, and learning how to experiment their way through uncertainty.

 

The book isn't a collection of answers; it's a method for asking better questions and making better decisions in a rapidly changing world.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Everything I'm working on is an extension of the same mission: helping people become more adaptable. The book is one piece; my Early Adapters newsletter is another, where I explore these ideas in real time with a growing community.

 

My wife, Jennifer, and I also founded the Litowitz Center for Enlightened Disagreement at Northwestern University because we believe one of society's greatest needs is teaching people not simply what to think, but how to think together despite disagreement.

 

We're also developing an AQ assessment to help individuals and organizations measure adaptability, while continuing to invest through QStar Capital in technologies—including AI, energy, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology—that we believe will shape the future of human capability.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Despite writing about uncertainty, I'm fundamentally optimistic. Every major technological revolution has expanded human capability, and AI will be no different. The question is whether we develop our own minds as quickly as we develop our machines.

 

Every technological revolution creates three groups: resistors, who try to stop change; adopters, who use new tools to do old things faster; and adapters, who rethink the game itself. History ultimately belongs to the adapters, and my hope is that The Adaptability Quotient helps more people become one of them.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Aug. 6

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Aug. 6, 1809: Alfred, Lord Tennyson born. 

Q&A with Ian Boothby and Pia Guerra

  

Ian Boothby

 

 

 

Ian Boothby and Pia Guerra are the author and illustrator of the new young adult graphic novel Frostbite. The husband-and-wife team has contributed to a variety of publications, including The New Yorker and MAD Magazine. They live in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

 

Q: What inspired you to create Frostbite, and how did you create your characters Jen and Dante?

 

A: We wrote the first version of Frostbite on our honeymoon in Hawaii. How we got from sand to snow neither of us remember. But we both grew up in Canada where snow could be a real threat. The idea of falling into it like quicksand after a snowstorm and being trapped. That said we now live where there's very little snow and we miss it. 

 

With Jen and Dante we wanted to create two characters trying to prove themselves to each other and step siblings felt like a good way. They've both been trying to show their father they're the best. But when it comes down to it, they also want to protect each other. 

Pia Guerra

 

Q: How did the two of you collaborate on the book?

 

A: Pia was working on Y The Last Man for DC and Ian for The Simpsons and Futurama Comics for most of their careers. But a few years ago Pia was given the opportunity to submit joke cartoons for The New Yorker and asked Ian to collaborate. 

 

From then they went on to do a regular feature called Meanwhile... for MAD Magazine and the comic strip Mannequin on the Moon. Where there came a time to submit a pitch to Scholastic we remembered a scary story we came up with on our honeymoon and wrote the plot together, then Ian wrote the script and Pia drew it up. 

 

Q: What came first, the text or the art? Or both simultaneously?

 

A: The story was originally a short film idea and after that we worked on the story together to make it a graphic novel. Then Ian wrote the script and Pia did the art. 

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: We hope it's chilling and thrilling. But doesn't make you not want to walk in the snow. Snow is still good. Mostly. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: We're doing other book pitches. Ian is producing a live version of his and Nina Matsumoto's Sparks! book series. Pia is doing editorial cartoons, which she was a Pulitzer finalist for.

 

And Pia and Ian continue to do work for The New Yorker and MAD Magazine as well as their three times a week Mannequin on the Moon comic strip Patreon.com/mannequinonthemoon 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Snow is your friend. Except when it isn't. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Emil Wilson

  

 

 

Emil Wilson is the author and illustrator of the new graphic novel The Nightingales. He is also an art director and cartoonist, and he lives in San Francisco. 

 

Q: How much did your family’s experiences inspire The Nightingales?

 

A: It inspired the central premise of the book. I wanted to create a graphic novel about my family. I was in my mid-50s, my father was dying, and I found myself reflecting on the relationships and experiences that shaped us. The story grew from a part of our family's history that we rarely talked about—which is often where the best stories begin.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: The title comes from a small moment in the book when one of the characters compares himself to a nightingale. The nightingale has inspired poems, fables, and operas for centuries, yet it's a plain brown bird that often goes unnoticed.

 

I love the idea that someone who appears ordinary can possess extraordinary gifts. In many ways, that describes every major character in this book.

 

One of my favorite facts is that the famous nightingale song is sung exclusively by the male birds. Most people assume it's the female because we tend to associate beauty with her, but in the world of nightingales, it's the males who possess that remarkable voice.

 

Q: Did you work on the text and the illustrations simultaneously, or did you focus on one before turning to the other?

 

A: Most cartoonists write the script first and then draw. That makes perfect sense because drawing is so time-consuming. I don't work that way because I'm constantly revising. For me, the words and pictures are always in conversation with one another.

 

That's one reason I chose to tell the story through the pages of a sketchbook. Not only does it reflect the way memory looks and feels to me—fragmentary, expressive, and a little chaotic—but it also gives me the freedom to revise both the writing and the artwork without sending shockwaves through the rest of the book.

 

I wish I were a creator who could finalize the words before I started drawing. But the more I draw a character, the more questions I ask: What is this person feeling? What does she want? What does her facial expression look like when she's uncomfortable?

 

As my understanding deepens, both the writing and the artwork evolve together. I keep revising until the last minute. It probably drives my editors—and especially my production team—a little crazy.

 

Q: The author Will Schwalbe said of the book, “Emil Wilson manages to convey the quirky joys as well as the horrors of the 1980s—highlighting the relentless nightmare of the early days of AIDS—while also speaking to issues that couldn’t be more current.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I was especially touched by Will Schwalbe's words. He was a young gay man in New York City during the AIDS crisis, while I grew up in a small town in Oregon, so he witnessed firsthand the darkest days of the early epidemic. I'm a few years younger, and I believe those few years probably spared me from the period when so many young gay men were getting sick and dying.

 

After I moved to New York, I volunteered with Gay Men's Health Crisis as a buddy for people living with AIDS. I saw how profoundly the disease affected individuals, families, and entire communities.

 

As was the case in 1985, we find ourselves in a moment that feels deeply divided, where people are often misunderstood and basic human decency seems in short supply.

 

At its heart, The Nightingales is a story about choosing compassion over fear. Sometimes the person most changed by an act of kindness isn't only the one who receives it, but the one who offers it.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm working on another semi-autobiographical novel, though this one is much closer to memoir. It's about the relationship between siblings, one of whom is me.

 

The biggest difference from The Nightingales is that this time I'm writing about experiences in which I wasn't just present—I was one of the people driving the story. Although I make a brief appearance in The Nightingales, I'm the central character in this new book.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: As a reader, I'm always looking for books that surprise me. I love discovering stories that feel unexpected, nuanced, and singular, regardless of genre.

 

I didn't discover graphic novels until I was in my 50s. Before then, I assumed comics were meant for younger readers. Then I realized they could tell deeply human stories about adults with as much emotional depth as any novel.

 

That's the kind of book I wanted to make. The Nightingales is about a family trying to understand one another and find their place in the world. If it inspires someone to pick up a graphic novel they otherwise might have overlooked, I'd be thrilled.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Matt Bloom

  

 

Matt Bloom is the author of the new book Lasting Wellbeing: Science-Based Practices for Tranquility, Authenticity, Meaning, and Joy. He is an emeritus professor of business at the University of Notre Dame, and is the cofounder of the Ritual app, which focuses on wellbeing. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Lasting Wellbeing?

 

A: Over the almost three decades I studied wellbeing, I learned how much people struggle to find the best ways to take care of themselves and the people in their lives. Many said they didn’t really know what wellbeing is, which made it very difficult to know what to do. They told me they are flooded with remedies, advice and information, and they don’t know how to navigate this bewildering barrage.

 

I’ve heard from hundreds of people who are discouraged because everything they have tried has failed to help. When I asked about their experience, most have been relying on bad advice because they didn’t know where to turn to for good help.

 

I know that scientific research can provide the guidance we all need to really understand our wellbeing and to find ways to flourish over long periods of time. I wanted to share some of the most important insights to empower people good choices for themselves and help their family and friends do the same. Achieving lasting wellbeing does not have to be complicated and confusing.

 

Q: The author Alexandra Elle said of the book, “Matt Bloom beautifully blends science-backed practices with accessible guidance, inviting readers into a more aligned way of living.” What do you think of that description, and what do you see as the role of science in your approach?

 

A: Alex is very generous in her praise, and I am grateful. I think science is the essential foundation for making good choices about our wellbeing, just as it is when it comes to our health. People find it hard to navigate the flood of “advice” and offerings they are exposed to.

 

The problem is that in that flood contains some really good advice, some worthless ideas, and some insidiously harmful advice. Science can help people identify the good advice and avoid both the bad and the ugly.

 

Alex’s books and other resources are examples of really good advice, the kind people can count on to help them.

 

Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: I studied people who work in the helping and healing professions—international aid workers, health care professionals, public school teachers, clergy, among others.

 

My team and I used large-scale surveys to collect data form thousands of people so we could learn about general patterns in their wellbeing, where the pain-points were in their lives, and what their daily experiences were like.

 

The richest research came from the deep, qualitative work we did. I spent time in with aid workers in field camps located in places like Afghanistan, the Philippines, Central African Republic, and India.

 

I worked with physicians in their clinics, and pastors in their churches. I gathered stories about their lives, observed their daily routines, and experienced the challenges they faced firsthand.

 

It was the combination of quantitative research and data from the field studies that produced the most important discoveries.

 

Many things surprised me, like how ill-equipped many people felt they were to take care of themselves. I was also surprised about how much the challenges those amazing people faced matched the challenges that the rest of us experience, even though we may think our work and lives isn’t as tough as helping and healing professionals.

 

One of my biggest takeaways was, as I mentioned above, that the advice and guidance all of these people needed was locked-up in academic journals. My goal with this book is to unlock that treasure trove so folks in the real world can us it.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write this book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

 

A: I appreciated the challenge of translating research into helpful resources for people. I learned a lot about how to do this when I was asked to give speeches or lead workshops. I received a lot of good feedback by being face-to-face with people.

 

But I have often said that I want to help as many people as I can, and help them as much as I can, so writing a book was one way I could reach a larger audience.

 

I was deeply gratified by the response I received from the people who read early drafts, and am encouraged that this book can make a difference. I hope readers feel more confident that they can make good choices.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m working on several things. One project is a book I am tentatively calling Measuring Up, which is about one of the biggest threats to our wellbeing--all the time and energy we spend comparing ourselves to other people.

 

The way social comparison takes shape in modern life is often profoundly detrimental to our wellbeing. Cultural forces compel us to measure ourselves against other people in myriad ways — are we successful, beautiful, smart, healthy enough — that can leave us feeling diminished and unworthy.

 

Chasing after status is one powerful way our culture encourages us to obsess about social comparisons. Our infatuation with competition and achievement, our lionizing of ambition and success, are others. I want to help people escape from the powerful pull of social comparison.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I would encourage people to be gentle and patient with themselves. The wellbeing challenges we face didn’t pop up because of one tough day or a single difficult experience. They are the result of an accumulation of tough experiences.

 

Improving and sustaining wellbeing follows the same process. The best way to do this is use simple, evidence-based practices that take 10 to 15 minutes. Use the practices consistently, and over time, big improvements will happen.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb