An Interview with Colleen Clemens
Colleen Lutz Clemens writes in Pennsylvania, where she lives with her family and pups and teaches English at Kutztown University. She publishes widely in both academic and creative venues. Her creative work has appeared in collections such as Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists, Three Minus One: Stories of Parents’ Love and Loss, and Biting the Bullet: Essays on the Courage of Women. She is the co-editor of three anthologies of narrative nonfiction including Philadelphia Reflections: Stories from the Delaware to the Schuylkill. Readers can find her at colleenclemens.com and on Instagram at @colclemensauthor.
Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
The book gets its title from a tattoo my husband and I have. You have to read the book to learn why we have it!
How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?
When I finally landed on the book’s cover, I knew it was the right one. I didn’t want something scientific. Instead, I wanted a cover that invited the reader in, that made someone walking by curious. Each of the animals on the cover has a role in the book. So much of the book is about being open to the world around me, so I wanted to honor the natural world, not the world of test tubes and ultrasounds.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
My book is dedicated to my daughter. Knowing she would have a copy of it to hold in her hands motivated me to finally get the book published. So many memoir writers influence me, but for this book Maggie Nelson’s memoir was particularly instructive and inspiring.
What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?
The number of people who have said to me, “I went through this. Thank you,” is truly moving. I want to shine light on something people hold in the darkness. I think my book is playing a role in that shift in the ways we think about infertility and pregnancy loss.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?
The perfect reader is someone who has been through or loves someone who has been through fertility treatments or has lost pregnancies. So basically, my reader is everyone. Everyone knows someone who has gone through some of what my book shares. This is not just a book for women – it is a book for anyone who is human.
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