Can I Get An Amen? (36 page)

Spoiler Alert: The Conversation with Sarah Healy and Questions for Discussion that follow tell more about what happens in the book than you might want to know until after you read it.

Q
. Can I Get an Amen?
is your first novel. How did you take up writing, and why were you inspired to write this book in particular?

A. I never expected to be a writer. That I have managed to become one comes as the most pleasant kind of shock. I was in my late twenties and had just had my first child when I realized that it was what I wanted to do, and so I quietly set to work. My exposure to writing in college was limited to mandatory, requirement-filling English classes, to which I am ashamed to say I put in only a cursory effort. So I had a lot of catching up to do. For five years I wrote constantly, without really trying to get anything published. I began with nonfiction essays—personal pieces on my life and family—as an attempt to try to teach myself the craft. The idea to write about a Christian family was born out of one of those essays. And I actually think attempting nonfiction first was a great way to get started, as writing is essentially telling the truth, even in fiction. Every story has its truth; you need to discover it and then tell it.

Q. How long did it take you to write the novel?

A. I remember sitting at my kitchen table on a sunny day in late July and typing the first sentence. Then the next. The story that had been in my mind became fully shaped in the execution of that first chapter. From that point on, I worked as feverishly as my children and job would allow. Each night, I went up to my room, sat on my bed, and wrote about a thousand words. That was my goal: at least a thousand words a night, at least six nights a week. That level of discipline might sound excessive, but being pregnant with my third child, I had something of a deadline in mind. And I did let myself slow down a bit toward the end. The first draft was finished in about four months. While I suppose the pace was rigorous, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. By working so constantly, I never had to get my head back into the plot or the characters; there wasn’t any ponderous, “Now, where was I…?” I always knew exactly where I was; I always remembered the tone of a scene.

Q. I suspect that many readers will see something of themselves in your protagonist, Ellen Carlisle. Is she you?

A. The unsatisfying but honest answer is: not really. I have imposed a number of my opinions, frustrations, and fears on poor Ellen. But she is very much a unique character in my mind, distinct from myself. She also rises to the occasion more than I think I could, given her circumstances; I would indulge in a bit more self-pity. I would have drowned my sorrows in spinach dip.

Q. Few writers of contemporary women’s fiction have tackled religion in a thoughtful but entertaining way, as you do here. Why do you think that is? Why did you want to write about it?

A. To be honest, I didn’t
want
to write about it. And I certainly didn’t want to tackle it. I think this was one of those cases
where your subject chooses you; I found myself writing about Christianity in spite of myself. And once I realized that I was in some way compelled to pursue this topic, I knew that I wouldn’t be doing it justice by just sticking my toe in, so it ended up taking center stage in my first novel. Now, that’s not to say that I thought it was a good idea. For the duration of my work on
Can I Get an Amen?
I couldn’t imagine that anyone would actually want to read it. But I’ve come to believe that it’s the subjects that make you a little nervous, those that make you shift in your chair and glance over your shoulder, that prove the most fertile.

Q. I had a strong reaction to the scene in which Ellen is sitting in church and hears her mother’s prayer request for the healing of her infertility and divorce. Did something in particular in-spire that memorable scene?

A. Perhaps this says something about my sense of humor, but I actually think that is one of the funnier scenes in the book. Of course, it turns into one of the saddest, but that may be why I find it so resonant. Sadness lends humor poignancy; it gives it more than a single note. And while I can’t recall a personal experience exactly analogous to the request made for Ellen, I’m sure my mother’s prayer group knows much more about my personal life than she lets on.

Q. Family lies at the heart of
Can I Get an Amen?
Can you tell us something about your own family? Did you grow up in New Jersey?

A. I did grow up in New Jersey, in a big, close-knit family with born-again Christian parents. And as soon as I was old enough to be embarrassed about anything, I was embarrassed about religion. I’m sure part of that was simply pubescent angst, searching for a source of humiliation like a heat-seeking missile. And, like all thirteen-year-olds, I viewed my parents as inexcusably bizarre.
(Although, let’s be honest, I think I had a better case than most…) However, what was once embarrassing has become endearing. And I would never be able to write
anything
without the unflinching support of my family.

Q. Often writers say that they couldn’t find the kind of book that they wanted to read, so they decided to write it themselves. Is that true for you? What do you like to read?

A. There are so many amazing writers out there that I find plenty of books that I want to read. That being said, I haven’t come across many that deal with religion—and, really, Christianity specifically—in a way that doesn’t seem loaded. Books involving Christianity tend to have the agenda of recruitment and conversion—or just the opposite. In
Can I Get An Amen?
I wanted religion to serve as a medium for a story full of compelling, sympathetic characters. And I love characters—that’s the common denominator in everything that I enjoy reading: great, quirky, flawed, familiar characters.

Q. What are you working on now? What do you hope to explore in your writing over the long term?

A. I am at work on my second novel, which again deals with family and love. And again, it is set in New Jersey. Though I live in Vermont now, I’m still a Jersey girl at heart.

1. Have you ever played with a Ouija board? Attended church school of some kind? Are you willing to fess up and share your experiences?

2. What was your general reaction to the novel? What did you like and not like about it?

3. Which characters did you especially enjoy? Did they all ring true for you?

4. Did you have any sympathy for Ellen’s husband, Gary, who divorces her because she can’t have a child? What would you do in a similar situation? Do you think men and women tend to approach infertility in very different ways?

5. What do you think of the way Sarah Healy explores faith? Did the novel make you think about how faith can both bring families together and tear them apart? Did you find the depiction of religion respectful?

6. Would you say that you currently practice more or less religion than you were brought up with? What role has religion played in your own family?

7. Ellen’s mother, Patty, accuses her of being closed-minded about religion. In what ways might that be true? In what ways might the same criticism be lobbed back at Patty?

8. Ellen realizes that no one has ever asked her what religious beliefs she holds. People in church assume they know and everyone else steers clear of the subject. Has that been your experience? Why don’t we talk about our religious beliefs? Do we lose something by failing to?

9. Though Ellen seems ambivalent about Christianity, she always seems to turn to prayer during her most desperate times. Is it out of habit? Or do you think it signifies a deeper belief than she wants to admit?

10. It’s ironic that Ellen’s mother, Patty, makes Ellen’s divorce and infertility public through a prayer request, yet Ellen’s parents won’t tell even their own children about their imminent bankruptcy. What do you think is going on in Patty’s and Roger’s minds to make such inconsistency possible? Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation, with someone accusing you of one thing while being guilty of it themselves?

11. In the novel, Sarah Healy gently bursts what some might consider religious fantasies—for example, the idea that “being Christian” and attending church will somehow protect us from bad things happening, and that the material goods we buy are “blessings” from God. Without getting into specific religious beliefs, can you think of other current religious fictions?

12. Abortion is another highly sensitive subject that is rarely explored in contemporary women’s fiction. Do you think Patty was right in insisting that Kat give birth and then give her child up for adoption? Compare the “choice” Kat had in the mid-1990s to the choice that Patty had in the 1960s. Do you think our
society has made any progress in finding common ground regarding this controversial issue?

13. Parker Kent is the villain of the novel, but Ellen has some sympathy for her at the end. Discuss the price that Parker pays to keep her marriage intact. What do you think Parker knew and didn’t know about her father’s behavior toward Jill during that visit to Nantucket? Do you think Parker’s complicity back then influenced the kind of marriage she ended up having?

14. Have you ever dated a minister, or been a minister looking for dates? What particular challenges do ministers face in their love lives? Discuss some of the reasons why the love interest in women’s fiction is so rarely a minister. And, by the way, what did you think of Mark?

15. Unconditional love, both human and divine, is a theme in this book. Do you think it’s possible to love unconditionally?

16. Did you find the end of the novel satisfying? If the book continued, what do you think would happen to the characters? What would you like to see happen to them?

17. In the last line of the novel, Ellen states that she still doesn’t know what she is, or how to define her beliefs. Can you sympathize with her uncertainty?