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Somebody's Always Hungry, Juliet JohnsonAn Interview with the book's author- Juliet Johnson
The recording took place on April the 23rd. To access the recording, click on the play button below
The book is available from Amazon and also from Barnes and Noble.
Alternative Playback Format of Interview Questions and Answers with Juliet JohnsonSomebody's Always HungryNew Mums Info: What's your name, the book's title and where are you located?
JJ: My name is Juliet Johnson, and I wrote a book called "Somebody's Always Hungry." I live in Los Angeles, California, in a horsey suburb called Shadow Hills. As far out of the city as I could be while still being in L.A., so I could pretend I live in the country.
New Mums Info: How long have you been writing?
JJ: Since I was 13. I started publishing my writing when I was in my twenties. I also wrote plays and ran a small theater in my late twenties. My thirties have been devoted to writing mostly creative non-fiction (funny essays), although I did write a novel called "Large" last summer. I've written plays, screenplays, poetry, short stories, essays and articles. Most of it is funny. New Mums Info: What is your background history - family/career?
JJ: I was raised until I was nine by my mom, a nurse, and my dad, a writer/director, who created a lot of classic 70's television (The Bionic Woman, V, Alien Nation, The Hulk). When they got divorced, my mom moved back across the country to Maryland with me and my little brother, and my older brother stayed in Los Angeles with my dad. Was a pretty bad break up. I think I started writing because I liked making up stories that had better endings than real life.
I went to NYU film school because my dad's work looked like fun and the direction I wanted to head. I know now I should have majored in writing! Moved back to L.A. after college and worked for nine years as an assistant to a couple of directors, producers and writers. I was basically just having a good time hanging out with the cast and crew on the set, I didn't have much ambition. I would write between jobs. I got a scholarship to study at the Padua Hills Writing Workshop which is a radical-minded group of writer/teachers who bust a hole in who you thought you were and dare the real you to come crawling out, through your pen. It changed my life, and helped me write more honestly -- to consider writing vibrantly. You know, write vividly, from your guts. I quit the Hollywood world and went back to Maryland, worked on a horse farm, worked as a nanny, and co-ran Stone Soup Repertory as the dramaturg. Wrote about two dozen comedic one-act plays, one of which (Stand By Your Car) was produced across the country and at the Samuel French Short Play Festival in NYC. Moved back to L.A. to be near Barry, a producer I had worked with and the most interesting person I knew, and married him after our first baby was a toddler. Now we have three kids. "Somebody's Always Hungry" is about surviving the motherhood experience, told from the point of view of the funny, college-educated woman who goes from working out in the real world to sitting on the floor covered in babies, Cheerios and dog hair. New Mums Info: Why did you write this book?
JJ: I didn't mean to write a whole book. I was just writing essays, and eventually submitting them to magazines. After a few years, a friend of mine said "You probably have enough for a whole book." I did. It took about a year of showing my stories to other moms and getting their feedback and encouragement before I thought I had a body of work that would be strong enough to affect and entertain a tired, literary parent who was looking for something fun and inspiring to read. New Mums Info: How long did it take to write?
JJ: A few years. Like I said, I wasn't in a hurry, just following my kids around and writing down the immense brush with mortality I felt at random, growing moments. Plus the paths they led me (and my emotions) down were crazy and funny. New Mums Info: What is it about?
JJ: The book is a trail of essays through pregnancy, birth and young childhood told from the humorous perspective of a mom corralled by tiny blonde bosses, guiding her through the daily joys and tragedies of everyday life. Sometimes the littlest person can connect you to the simplest, most profound moments of your life. It's also peppered with the insane feelings that motherhood provokes - rich, deep love, hearty anger, frustration, confusion, bewilderment, laughter - all couched within regular events like pets dying, birthday parties, relatives, preschool, library visits and learning to ride a bike. New Mums Info: What do you hope people will take away from reading this book?
JJ: I hope that moms will laugh and be reassured, by seeing themselves and their crazy, conflicting motherhood feelings. Being at home with tiny people can make you feel isolated. I hope the book offers a feeling of connection, and that moms will be inspired to continue being their raw, true, confused selves. I hope my book will refresh their courage to tackle one more day of the exhausting motherhood experience, with a little laughter from remembering the humor in my stories. New Mums Info: Who is your audience?
JJ: Moms, dads, grandparents, nannies, women, aunts, uncles, pregnant women, people who like kids, people who like funny stories, readers who like inspiration and true stories. New Mums Info: What are some of the themes in the book, or with the book as a whole?
JJ: The main theme of the book is hang on to each moment, because your kids' lives will speed by right before you eyes. Leap in and lather up in it while you have it. You won't regret it. A lot of the essays deal with letting go of control, learning to grow and change as your kids grow, being open to what your kids have to teach you. Most importantly, for moms to realize that they are not alone. Once you have kids you are sort of shut off from society for awhile, as you nurture your little ones. You're trying so hard to do the right thing. The book echoes those feelings of insecurity, and helps you laugh and feel good about where you are right at the moment. When you're a mom in the thick of it, reading the book helps a mom see that what she feels might feel like tragedy, but when you're reading about it in somebody else's family, it's funny. You're not alone and it's funny. New Mums Info: What makes this book different from other mom books?
JJ: Other mom books are either all humor and no wisdom, or all how-to and no humor. My book falls somewhere in between. It's funny and yet you still can be moved by the writing. Also it's a voice from a mom who came from an adult world of work, degrees and using your brain and ending up alone with two small people and only undeveloped intuitive skills. Puts into words what a fairly well-adjusted, college educated person thinks when they're suddenly sitting on the floor picking somebody else's nose all day. And (after the initial shock wears off) how you wouldn't trade your life for a million bucks. New Mums Info: Do you have any favourite stories in the book?
JJ: I like "Chain of Fools," because it's about death and sledding at the same time. But I like all of them. "Birth of a Nathan" reminds me of the giant lovescape that opens up when having your baby. "Dating the Preschool Parents" helps you understand how to make friends as a grown up. I like the stories that are about parenthood, but mirror other aspects of the personality. New Mums Info: Do you have any advice for moms?
JJ: Relax and laugh. Hang on to the moments you get and the craziness of family life. Just beyond the chaos is more chaos. And all woven in are moments of serenity. You just have to look.
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