Q&A with Ann Bancroft

 

 

 

Ann Bancroft is the author of the new novel Almost Family. Also a journalist, she lives in California.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Almost Family, and how did you create your character Liz?

 

A: My own experience as a two-time cancer patient and the deep connections I made as a  mentor to other patients gave me the idea of putting three strangers together and having them bond deeply because of their profound experiences and their shared family issues.

 

Liz was a product of my musings, “what if?” What if, instead of having great support from family and a wide group of friends, I were isolated like Liz? Estranged from family? What if cancer showed up at the same time as my worst breakup?

 

Putting Liz in such a fix and having all of the characters meet as Stage 4 cancer patients helped put my own experience in perspective, and reminded me of the importance of nurturing relationships before it is too late.

 

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

A: The book’s original title was The Oakland Mets, after the characters’ inside-joke name they gave themselves as a group. Once deciding to publish, however, I felt readers would not get the reference, and see it as a baseball book.

 

Almost Family popped up as a better title right away, because that is what the characters become for each other. It’s also a reference to the family issues and distant relationships that are unresolved at the book’s beginning.

Q: The writer Jodi Angel said of the book, “Almost Family is a book that comes right at the hard stuff with a whole lot of truth and even more humor.” What do you think of that description, and what did you see as the role of humor in the book?

 

A: I absolutely love that description because it it's what I hoped readers would glean from the book. It’s a tough subject, faced head-on, but humor and love make it relatable and, I hope, easier for readers to contemplate and accept.

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

A: I hope they will come away with a better understanding of cancer patients’ perspectives, and that they’ll recognize that we all keep growing and live until we die. I hope they’ll laugh and cry with Liz, Rhonda, and Dave, and that those characters will stay with them, because I’ve grown to love them so much.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: A novel whose protagonist is based on my mother, who was a great character and trailblazer at a time when feminism was just taking hold.

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: It was a very satisfying challenge to move from a career in journalism and communications to writing fiction. Once I got accustomed to making things up, it was very freeing to write this book. And being a debut author at 71 makes me happy. Never too late!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb