Katherine Sherbrooke
Author Interview - Katherine Sherbrooke
Author of This Much is True
On her fifty-eighth birthday, Veronica Harmon feels blessed—with a fulfilling veterinary career, a wonderful marriage and three grown children, her youngest newly engaged and celebrating her first solo art show that very night. But when Veronica meets her daughter’s future in-laws, Ted and Belinda, who’ve flown across the country for the show, she is shocked to recognize Ted from an incident during high school that changed the trajectory of her life. Having never told a soul about that night, Veronica’s past reemerges like a live grenade.
Over the course of a pre-arranged weekend at the Harmon’s home intended to better acquaint the two families, Veronica unearths troubling memories, questions her own recollections and grapples with the impossible. If she quietly welcomes this man as a permanent part of her family she will be forced to live with a devastating lie, but if she reveals their shared history, she will expose her private shame and destroy her daughter’s future. Just when she thinks there is no viable solution, she has an epiphany that flips the script on what it means to be a survivor and the choices that are hers to make.
Author Interview - Katherine Sherbrooke
Author I draw inspiration from:
I draw inspiration from many wonderful authors, but today I’ll highlight Ann Patchett. She is a master storyteller with prose that is beautiful without being fussy, which makes her books approachable. I really enjoyed Tom Lake and The Dutch House, but I just might like her latest, Whistler best of all. It’s a deeply emotional journey that kept me riveted from the jump.
Author Interview - Katherine Sherbrooke | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
There’s nothing quite like reading a book on a beach. I think I enjoy this for a couple of obvious reasons—I’m probably on vacation in this scenario, and it’s usually warm! But the best part about reading a book on vacation is the ability to spend several hours at a stretch buried inside a book, barely noticing the hours fly by. That, above all, is my favorite way to read.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Parvati from The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. I hope I’d be able to not say a thing, and simply appreciate her presence, maybe gain some wisdom by osmosis.
Author Interview - Katherine Sherbrooke | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I loved books from the time I could read to myself and always had a stack of them beside my bed or at my feet for long car trips, but I don’t think I started to think about the actual process of writing until I read James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. I was enthralled by how Dahl had created a purely fantastical world and placed me right inside it. I think I read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe that same summer, which I loved even more, and began to seriously ponder how these authors had created such magic with words. And I did see it as a bit of magic, or a secret gift bestowed upon a special few.
From that time forward I dreamed of being able to write a book of my own, but (as crazy as this sounds) I honestly thought that if I had what it took to become an actual author it would be abundantly obvious to my teachers, and I would somehow be led behind the secret curtain of authorship and sent on my way. Turns out that’s not how it works.
Fortunately, reading voraciously provided a wonderful education in storytelling, and after I stepped away from business (about fifteen years ago) I decided to give writing a novel an honest try. I started taking classes at Boston’s GrubStreet and discovered that writing is a craft like any other that must be studied and practiced relentlessly. Once I stopped looking for a magic wand and started working hard at the craft, I found that I had many stories of my own I wanted to tell, and I haven’t looked back since.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Print books, whether hardcover or paperback are hard to beat. I appreciate knowing visually where I am in a book. You can feel the “middle” of the story by the equal weight in each hand and anticipation ratchets up when you know you only have several pages left. It all makes the experience of ingesting a story visceral in a way that is hard to replace. That said, once I started traveling for business a lot, the eBook became my savior. It’s a gift to be able to hold multiple books in one thin case, to not have to leave the six-hundred-page book at home because it’s just too heavy to carry. My Kindle is also the “book” on my nightstand, its dim light allowing me to read into the night without disturbing my husband. And then audio books offer a completely different reading experience. I walk every day and always have an audio book going as my companion. It’s like being read to as a child all over again, your mind able to conjure the images as the narrator drops the words into your ear. This is all to say that I’m grateful for the many ways I can access great stories and use them all!
The last book I read:
I finally read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. It had been recommended to me for years, but I suppose it took me a long time to get to because “Westerns” aren’t really my thing. True to the raves I’d heard, McMurtry is a fantastic storyteller with characters that are beautifully wrought. I enjoyed it entirely.
Author Interview - Katherine Sherbrooke | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I think there’s something important that happens in the creative process with pen on paper, when the brain is forced to slow to a speed that allows thoughts to more fully develop. So, I often start books that way, and I always turn back to pen and paper when I’m stuck. But the truth is, I’m too impatient, and given how fast I can type, once I gain momentum in a story I’m on the computer, typing as fast as I can.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Martha Ballard, a midwife in the late 1700s, from A Frozen River by Ariel Lawhom. Martha is a champion for women in impossible situations and uses her intellect and influence to protect and heal them. We share the same values, and I hope she would find me worthy of being her friend.
Author Interview - Katherine Sherbrooke | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
A film director or editor. Combining movement (of the camera and the actors) with dialogue and a soundtrack creates an immersive experience I’d love to try. I’ve done a bit of video editing here and there and find it extremely satisfying.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
There’s nothing quite like Katharine Hepburn “radically” wearing fabulous pants and stealing every scene with her ferocity and grace all at once.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Bhutan. It considers its “Gross National Happiness Index” as its measure of health as a country rather than the more typical GDP. What a concept—prioritizing the happiness of citizens over economics! I’d love to experience what such a country feels like in person.
My signature drink:
I’m a wine gal—a crisp Chablis or White Burgundy if I can find it! As much as I try to avoid sugar and expand my horizons, it’ll always be white wine for me.
Favorite artist:
Mary Oliver. For her gorgeous poems, of course, but also her approach. She made art even when no one much paid attention, because she couldn’t not make her art, and (as far as I can tell) lived a life authentic to who she was.
Number one on my bucket list:
Going to an elephant refuge in Thailand or Africa. Elephants are so enormous and gentle, intelligent and majestic. Spending time with them and helping in some way is a dream.
Anything else you'd like to add:
Thank you for having me, and for continuing to amplify authors and our books!
About Katherine Sherbrooke:
Katherine Sherbrooke
Katherine A. Sherbrooke is the award-winning author of four novels: the New York Times notable Leaving Coy’s Hill, a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award; Fill the Sky, the winner of an Independent Press Award, The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly, and her latest, This Much is True. Her work has also appeared in Cognoscenti, Zibby Magazine, and Writer’s Digest. She served as Chair of the Board of GrubStreet, one of the nation’s premier creative writing centers, from 2013-2023. She has two grown sons and lives on the South Shore of Massachusetts with her husband.
