Hi, I’m Emily St. John Mandel, author of Sea of Tranquility, The Glass Hotel, and Station Eleven—AMA
I’ve published six novels, most recently Sea of Tranquility, The Glass Hotel, and Station Eleven. I also sometimes write for TV. I live mostly in NYC but spend a lot of time in LA.
I loved station eleven and my sister did too. She just read SOT and loved it. Keep it up
MerricatBeckett on
I read you like David Mitchell, and found some common ground between your books and his. I would love to see the Mandelverse meet the Mitchellverse. Any chance of that ever happening ?
PeanutSalsa on
What is your process like or what kinds of steps do you take to create well rounded dimensional characters?
frasierarmitage on
Sea Of Tranquility was one of my favourite books of last year. I loved it. Congrats on winning the Goodreads Choice award for it too. I’d love to know what the spark for it was, and at what point you realised you were writing something special?
Haudyerwhist on
I absolutely adore Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel. I recommend them as much as I can. I can’t wait to read Sea of Tranquility.
may12023 on
I loved Sea of Tranquility and the Singers Gun! Are you working on a new novel or are you taking a break for a bit?
thenormaldude on
Hi Emily! My partner and I LOVED Sea of Tranquility. We’ve started to refer to things as “Pulling a Gaspery”. “Pulling a Gaspery” is when someone acts like they 100% are committed to doing something and then they do the total opposite the first second they have the chance. Like saying you definitely won’t mess with the timeline and then immediately messing with the timeline the first chance you get.
Okay, I have two questions:
1. I LOVED the character of Vincent in The Glass Hotel. What was your thinking in bringing her back for Sea of Tranquility and having some Glass Hotel tie-ins?
2. Do you think Gaspery was planning to mess with the timeline the whole time? Or was it a spur of the moment thing? I don’t remember it being explicitly stated in the book, although I might be forgetting. I feel like he intended to be a good time-boy, but then confronted with the reality of not saving Olive’s life, he just couldn’t handle that kind of callousness.
Anyway, huge fan, looking forward to whatever you write next!
caseydonnellan on
How were you feeling back in February 2020? Would you describe yourself as more or less freaked out than the average person?
DendeVoice on
I watched the show first, and after this I read station eleven and was stunning
ireallyamsomething on
I’m in love with your writing so I firstly want to say a BIG Thank You.
Your writing leaves me feeling both pensive and somewhat hopeful. Leaves me with a belief that, yes, there is beauty among all…this. As someone who has struggled with terrible depression for a long time, would like to know what is your go to when you need hope (in work or in life)?
Another easier question: What are your all-time favourite movies?
Tortuga917 on
Some of your writing makes me feel a little bit like I’m in a dream or floating (sea of tranquility. Singers gun. Etc.) Is that style a conscious choice on your part, or am I just reacting to your prose and style weird? Haha.
I’ve almost finished your catalog (one left). Thanks for all your work!
Downtown_Wheel_7750 on
Do you have any advice for writers just starting out / struggling to get over that first bout of imposter syndrome? (Loved Sea of Tranquility!!)
th3AntiClutch on
No question really. Just wanted to say that I read Glass Hotel early in 2022 and it reignited my joy in reading for the first time since I was in college. Went back and read Station Eleven and then Sea of Tranquility and they are all absolutely beautiful. Thank you.
[deleted] on
Station Eleven was the book that got me back into reading as an adult! I can’t thank you enough. I give out my copy to friends constantly 🙂
I was surprised when watching the miniseries that the Kirsten’s name was pronounced with the Kjersten (KYERSTON) version. I have that name and have never run across a character with it before! What inspired the name choice, if anything?
Jake_McAwful on
Hi Emily!
I read that you worked with a cancer research lab while writing Station Eleven. In that time before you became a full-time writer, how did you manage to balance your day-job and writing manuscripts? Did you have any personal rules that you adhered to, or would you have any recommendations for writers trying to do the same?
helloart3mis on
Your books are so special to me, what books are special to you?
GoAheadLickMyHole on
What outside resources did you draw from whilst writing Station 11, in order to make it feel more real? Or was the content of the book already very familiar to you?
Kodachrome16 on
Hi Emily. First of all, thanks for doing this AMA, and I want to say I love your work.
Could you provide some insight into how the writers at HBO went about adapting Station Eleven? Did you have any involvement in the process? I didn’t love all the decisions the show made, but I think it absolutely hit it out of the park with its take on Frank. What did you think of his characterization and relationship with Kirsten?
I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I think the final episode with Frank is one of the most beautiful and haunting hours of television I’ve watched in recent memory. Thanks again for doing this and sharing your wonderful work with the world.
saltcityfriday on
What inspired you to use/create the Station Eleven comic as part of Miranda’s ongoing story? One of my favorite parts of her story is when she’s talking with Pablo and it reads: “she started to explain her project to him again but the words stopped in her throat. ‘You don’t have to understand it,’ she said. ‘It’s mine.’” I think about it often – just feels very powerful.
What would be the one sentimental item you’d want to have if you ended up traveling through the apocalypse?
What other books have you really loved these days?
Favorite place to sit and write, or grab a bite to eat, in NYC?
Also just wanted to say Station Eleven is one of my most dog-earred, repeat read, send as a gift, beloved books. Thank you so much for sharing it with the world!
zumera on
Are you working on a new book?
Jacques_Plantir on
Hi Emily!
I was introduced to your work through The Glass Hotel, and having loved that, eagerly read and enjoyed Sea of Tranquility as well.
I’m really interested in the fact that SoT feels like largely it’s own story, and *not* a sequel to TGH, *but* that it does nevertheless carry over the story of Vincent and Paul as one of its narrative strands. How did they make their way into SoT? Did you set out to write a follow-up to TGH that ended up veering wildly into mostly a different territory? Or did you have an idea for SoT and where it would go, but decided at some point that continuing Vincent and Paul’s story as a piece of that puzzle could elevate it? I don’t know that where they land (as characters) after SoT feels any more resolved for them than they were at the end of TGH, which is maybe even more tantalizing for the reader. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks for all that you do!
Rex_Kwon_Dough on
Thank you for getting me back into reading!
How does one find confidence in what they are writing. is it through education or pulling from within?
sihtydaernacuoytihsy on
You have written six novels; I read six novels. (Thanks for that!)
Questions, if you want to respond to any.
1. Your books get weirder. Did you feel like you needed to establish yourself as a “serious” author before getting surrealistic (or sci-fi-ey), or do you think the weird shift is just your own voice changing?
2. I love Ursula LeGuin’s Hainish cycle, but it’s pretty clear she didn’t have a fully fledged world (universe?) worked out in advance, but was adding stuff to it, varying it, resetting timelines and assumptions in each story. To what extent are your books playing with similar ideas, and to what extent did you have a master vision of a consolidated arc before beginning Station Eleven?
3. So there’s that one beautiful scene where the lady’s looking out over the fleet of ships at anchor and then in the next novel we found out how awful things are and then in the next next we find out what’s really going on, or we see some static under a bridge and… likewise. What do you call the technique for steadily fleshing out a scene that repeats like that, novel by novel? Did you see other authors doing that first, or is that all you?
4. Can you get Helen DeWitt to write another novel. I love her work, too, and I feel like she could use someone to break her out of her writers block, if that’s what it is.
Anyway thanks for visiting us!
abberstotle on
I love your books so much! They’ve left a profound impact on me and I find myself thinking about your works on a weekly basis.
Can you tell a bit about your creative process? How long do you write in a day? How do ideas come to you? What’s the most frustrating/rewarding part of turning what you imagine onto paper?
Thank you!
captainamericanidiot on
Hello!! Wow, had no idea you are on Reddit. I just picked up multiple of your books (in the past week) following gushing recommendations from three different local bookstores — am absolutely loving Station Eleven so far.
May I ask, regarding the commercial aspect of being an author: to what extent and how do current sales trends, publisher interests, etc influence your work (whether during initial drafting or editing stages)?
I (not an author) ask because I’m always hearing about commercial pressures constraining creative impulses — so when I read works that seem totally creatively unrestrained AND commercially successful I’m keen to hear how such authors navigate the industry!
Pickle_12 on
Hi. Any plans to make any of your other books into movies or cable series?
NightAngelRogue on
Hello! I loved Station Eleven and I thought Sea of Tranquility was one of the most incredible pieces of writing of all time. The reveal was amazing and I’m recommending your books to everyone I know! Please keep writing more! In Sea of Tranquility, your future protagonist, Gaspery, made the decision >!to go back in time and keep Edwin from thinking he’s gone insane after witnessing the anomaly from the future. Later, Gaspery meets a past version of himself in the future, causing the anomaly.!< I audibly gasped when all the pieces clicked into place and that moment honestly was what cemented this novel as one of my favorites of all time. My question is: how did you come up with these particular plot points and write them into a pandemic story with a healthy dose of time travel into this amazing novel? How did you plot it out? Did anything surprise you as you were writing this out?
megshoe on
I had my daughter in between reading Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility. I can’t quote the line exactly, but when Olive is thinking about the end of the world – the world ending with her daughter in it – wow. Brought tears to my eyes. It really made realize how much my own perception of events (both real and fictional) changed since becoming a parent.
Have you had any similar (or different) realizations since becoming a parent and going through the process of writing?
Also just need to say I absolutely love every one of your books. They are so beautiful. I always feel that they have tugged on something inside my soul, some longing I didn’t even know I had. Thank you for sharing your work with us.
prettyfacebasketcase on
AHHHH! I started station eleven at the beginning of March 2020 and felt a little responsible for causing your book to come true. Your book was so impactful that I have “Survival is Insufficient” tattooed on my arm. Finding out it was a Seven of Nine quote felt like destiny as I’ve always admired her as well. I don’t really have a question for you, but I suppose I would ask if you’ve watched the new series Picard with all of Sevens incredible story?
inviene1 on
First off, I want to say thank you because I haven’t finished a book as an adult until Station Eleven. It sounds so horrible to say that but between work and life I abandoned it somewhere. I found Station Eleven intensely therapeutic as I was working in a grim job at the time and saw a lot of suffering from the pandemic.
I have two questions:
1. Will there be a Station Eleven graphic novel?
2. This question has intensely bothered me since reading the book and I would love to know your thoughts. Did *spoiler for Glass Hotel*>!Vincent intend to kill herself? Her actions seemed so reckless, bordering on suicidal. Did she just not care either way? Or was it truly an accident?!<
Thank you again and I look forward to reading any of your new books (and I’m happy to be reading again!).
Few_Engineering_8538 on
I remember damage
UmIAmNotMrLebowski on
I absolutely adore Station Eleven, both the book and the show (in slightly different but equal ways).
I also adore the character Frank, and I love the way you handled his story and its end in the book. I’m physically disabled, and I think a lot about what that means in an apocalypse and how I would (or more likely wouldn’t) survive. One of the things that struck me about the changes the show made with Frank was that instead of committing suicide because he knows his brother won’t leave him behind and he can’t navigate a broken world in a wheelchair, the show has him using a cane and going out in more of a blaze of glory by defending Javan and Kirsten against an intruder. I understand why the showrunners made that choice, but what I liked about your version is that it highlights what we call the social model of disability – that’s there’s nothing “wrong” with being disabled, but the limiting factor we face is a world that often doesn’t have the right accommodations for our needs. Ramps and lifts and smooth pavements mean that wheelchair users can be independent and get around, but without that infrastructure we’re trapped. Frank knew this, and knew that even if they could get him down the stairs he’d never be able to navigate a dying city, and chose to sacrifice himself so that his brother could live – it’s a beautiful part of the book.
Sorry, that was a _very_ long lead in to my actual question – was there a particular part of the show that was particularly weird for you to watch as the creator of that universe? Not necessarily better or worse, just… wildly different from how you’d pictured it in your head?
[deleted] on
Hi! I just finished reading Sea of Tranquility last week. I started the Glass Hotel this week. I’m a huge fan of your writing.
I read Station Eleven last year and I adored the setting. I could not get enough of the characters and their stories. Will there be any novels in the Station Eleven post pandemic world? Maybe with the same characters or maybe with new ones navigating the ‘new world’?
Also: Do you read your book reviews on Goodreads etc??
Alive_Acanthisitta13 on
Well, heck. A lot of unanswered questions here. But I’d love to know if you’re a morning, afternoon, or knight rider? Or all over the place? Also, do you write every day? Thanks a bunch, I love hearing a bit more about the process. And the little idiosyncrasies that writers have while working. Thx for the books ❤️.
tkaish on
I JUST finished (and started) Station Eleven this Sunday and was wondering: when you write a book that jumps from scene to scene across time, are you writing the snips individually and then trying them out in different orders? Or writing something longer chronologically and then distributing its parts? (Or knowing exactly where things are going to go already with no rearrangement or distribution needed??)
strandedonhawaii on
Any favorite poems/poets you’re reading or have read recently?
eric_saites on
In Station Eleven a character experiences withdrawal from Venlafaxine. What inspired you to include this bit?
I was taking Venlafaxine at the time I read the book, and did experience the withdrawal myself, when I would forget to take it and when I switched to another option. It is one of the most intense withdrawals I’ve ever experienced. I really enjoyed that part of the book because I don’t know anyone else that has experienced it.
38 Comments
I loved station eleven and my sister did too. She just read SOT and loved it. Keep it up
I read you like David Mitchell, and found some common ground between your books and his. I would love to see the Mandelverse meet the Mitchellverse. Any chance of that ever happening ?
What is your process like or what kinds of steps do you take to create well rounded dimensional characters?
Sea Of Tranquility was one of my favourite books of last year. I loved it. Congrats on winning the Goodreads Choice award for it too. I’d love to know what the spark for it was, and at what point you realised you were writing something special?
I absolutely adore Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel. I recommend them as much as I can. I can’t wait to read Sea of Tranquility.
I loved Sea of Tranquility and the Singers Gun! Are you working on a new novel or are you taking a break for a bit?
Hi Emily! My partner and I LOVED Sea of Tranquility. We’ve started to refer to things as “Pulling a Gaspery”. “Pulling a Gaspery” is when someone acts like they 100% are committed to doing something and then they do the total opposite the first second they have the chance. Like saying you definitely won’t mess with the timeline and then immediately messing with the timeline the first chance you get.
Okay, I have two questions:
1. I LOVED the character of Vincent in The Glass Hotel. What was your thinking in bringing her back for Sea of Tranquility and having some Glass Hotel tie-ins?
2. Do you think Gaspery was planning to mess with the timeline the whole time? Or was it a spur of the moment thing? I don’t remember it being explicitly stated in the book, although I might be forgetting. I feel like he intended to be a good time-boy, but then confronted with the reality of not saving Olive’s life, he just couldn’t handle that kind of callousness.
Anyway, huge fan, looking forward to whatever you write next!
How were you feeling back in February 2020? Would you describe yourself as more or less freaked out than the average person?
I watched the show first, and after this I read station eleven and was stunning
I’m in love with your writing so I firstly want to say a BIG Thank You.
Your writing leaves me feeling both pensive and somewhat hopeful. Leaves me with a belief that, yes, there is beauty among all…this. As someone who has struggled with terrible depression for a long time, would like to know what is your go to when you need hope (in work or in life)?
Another easier question: What are your all-time favourite movies?
Some of your writing makes me feel a little bit like I’m in a dream or floating (sea of tranquility. Singers gun. Etc.) Is that style a conscious choice on your part, or am I just reacting to your prose and style weird? Haha.
I’ve almost finished your catalog (one left). Thanks for all your work!
Do you have any advice for writers just starting out / struggling to get over that first bout of imposter syndrome? (Loved Sea of Tranquility!!)
No question really. Just wanted to say that I read Glass Hotel early in 2022 and it reignited my joy in reading for the first time since I was in college. Went back and read Station Eleven and then Sea of Tranquility and they are all absolutely beautiful. Thank you.
Station Eleven was the book that got me back into reading as an adult! I can’t thank you enough. I give out my copy to friends constantly 🙂
I was surprised when watching the miniseries that the Kirsten’s name was pronounced with the Kjersten (KYERSTON) version. I have that name and have never run across a character with it before! What inspired the name choice, if anything?
Hi Emily!
I read that you worked with a cancer research lab while writing Station Eleven. In that time before you became a full-time writer, how did you manage to balance your day-job and writing manuscripts? Did you have any personal rules that you adhered to, or would you have any recommendations for writers trying to do the same?
Your books are so special to me, what books are special to you?
What outside resources did you draw from whilst writing Station 11, in order to make it feel more real? Or was the content of the book already very familiar to you?
Hi Emily. First of all, thanks for doing this AMA, and I want to say I love your work.
Could you provide some insight into how the writers at HBO went about adapting Station Eleven? Did you have any involvement in the process? I didn’t love all the decisions the show made, but I think it absolutely hit it out of the park with its take on Frank. What did you think of his characterization and relationship with Kirsten?
I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I think the final episode with Frank is one of the most beautiful and haunting hours of television I’ve watched in recent memory. Thanks again for doing this and sharing your wonderful work with the world.
What inspired you to use/create the Station Eleven comic as part of Miranda’s ongoing story? One of my favorite parts of her story is when she’s talking with Pablo and it reads: “she started to explain her project to him again but the words stopped in her throat. ‘You don’t have to understand it,’ she said. ‘It’s mine.’” I think about it often – just feels very powerful.
What would be the one sentimental item you’d want to have if you ended up traveling through the apocalypse?
What other books have you really loved these days?
Favorite place to sit and write, or grab a bite to eat, in NYC?
Also just wanted to say Station Eleven is one of my most dog-earred, repeat read, send as a gift, beloved books. Thank you so much for sharing it with the world!
Are you working on a new book?
Hi Emily!
I was introduced to your work through The Glass Hotel, and having loved that, eagerly read and enjoyed Sea of Tranquility as well.
I’m really interested in the fact that SoT feels like largely it’s own story, and *not* a sequel to TGH, *but* that it does nevertheless carry over the story of Vincent and Paul as one of its narrative strands. How did they make their way into SoT? Did you set out to write a follow-up to TGH that ended up veering wildly into mostly a different territory? Or did you have an idea for SoT and where it would go, but decided at some point that continuing Vincent and Paul’s story as a piece of that puzzle could elevate it? I don’t know that where they land (as characters) after SoT feels any more resolved for them than they were at the end of TGH, which is maybe even more tantalizing for the reader. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks for all that you do!
Thank you for getting me back into reading!
How does one find confidence in what they are writing. is it through education or pulling from within?
You have written six novels; I read six novels. (Thanks for that!)
Questions, if you want to respond to any.
1. Your books get weirder. Did you feel like you needed to establish yourself as a “serious” author before getting surrealistic (or sci-fi-ey), or do you think the weird shift is just your own voice changing?
2. I love Ursula LeGuin’s Hainish cycle, but it’s pretty clear she didn’t have a fully fledged world (universe?) worked out in advance, but was adding stuff to it, varying it, resetting timelines and assumptions in each story. To what extent are your books playing with similar ideas, and to what extent did you have a master vision of a consolidated arc before beginning Station Eleven?
3. So there’s that one beautiful scene where the lady’s looking out over the fleet of ships at anchor and then in the next novel we found out how awful things are and then in the next next we find out what’s really going on, or we see some static under a bridge and… likewise. What do you call the technique for steadily fleshing out a scene that repeats like that, novel by novel? Did you see other authors doing that first, or is that all you?
4. Can you get Helen DeWitt to write another novel. I love her work, too, and I feel like she could use someone to break her out of her writers block, if that’s what it is.
Anyway thanks for visiting us!
I love your books so much! They’ve left a profound impact on me and I find myself thinking about your works on a weekly basis.
Can you tell a bit about your creative process? How long do you write in a day? How do ideas come to you? What’s the most frustrating/rewarding part of turning what you imagine onto paper?
Thank you!
Hello!! Wow, had no idea you are on Reddit. I just picked up multiple of your books (in the past week) following gushing recommendations from three different local bookstores — am absolutely loving Station Eleven so far.
May I ask, regarding the commercial aspect of being an author: to what extent and how do current sales trends, publisher interests, etc influence your work (whether during initial drafting or editing stages)?
I (not an author) ask because I’m always hearing about commercial pressures constraining creative impulses — so when I read works that seem totally creatively unrestrained AND commercially successful I’m keen to hear how such authors navigate the industry!
Hi. Any plans to make any of your other books into movies or cable series?
Hello! I loved Station Eleven and I thought Sea of Tranquility was one of the most incredible pieces of writing of all time. The reveal was amazing and I’m recommending your books to everyone I know! Please keep writing more! In Sea of Tranquility, your future protagonist, Gaspery, made the decision >!to go back in time and keep Edwin from thinking he’s gone insane after witnessing the anomaly from the future. Later, Gaspery meets a past version of himself in the future, causing the anomaly.!< I audibly gasped when all the pieces clicked into place and that moment honestly was what cemented this novel as one of my favorites of all time. My question is: how did you come up with these particular plot points and write them into a pandemic story with a healthy dose of time travel into this amazing novel? How did you plot it out? Did anything surprise you as you were writing this out?
I had my daughter in between reading Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility. I can’t quote the line exactly, but when Olive is thinking about the end of the world – the world ending with her daughter in it – wow. Brought tears to my eyes. It really made realize how much my own perception of events (both real and fictional) changed since becoming a parent.
Have you had any similar (or different) realizations since becoming a parent and going through the process of writing?
Also just need to say I absolutely love every one of your books. They are so beautiful. I always feel that they have tugged on something inside my soul, some longing I didn’t even know I had. Thank you for sharing your work with us.
AHHHH! I started station eleven at the beginning of March 2020 and felt a little responsible for causing your book to come true. Your book was so impactful that I have “Survival is Insufficient” tattooed on my arm. Finding out it was a Seven of Nine quote felt like destiny as I’ve always admired her as well. I don’t really have a question for you, but I suppose I would ask if you’ve watched the new series Picard with all of Sevens incredible story?
First off, I want to say thank you because I haven’t finished a book as an adult until Station Eleven. It sounds so horrible to say that but between work and life I abandoned it somewhere. I found Station Eleven intensely therapeutic as I was working in a grim job at the time and saw a lot of suffering from the pandemic.
I have two questions:
1. Will there be a Station Eleven graphic novel?
2. This question has intensely bothered me since reading the book and I would love to know your thoughts. Did *spoiler for Glass Hotel*>!Vincent intend to kill herself? Her actions seemed so reckless, bordering on suicidal. Did she just not care either way? Or was it truly an accident?!<
Thank you again and I look forward to reading any of your new books (and I’m happy to be reading again!).
I remember damage
I absolutely adore Station Eleven, both the book and the show (in slightly different but equal ways).
I also adore the character Frank, and I love the way you handled his story and its end in the book. I’m physically disabled, and I think a lot about what that means in an apocalypse and how I would (or more likely wouldn’t) survive. One of the things that struck me about the changes the show made with Frank was that instead of committing suicide because he knows his brother won’t leave him behind and he can’t navigate a broken world in a wheelchair, the show has him using a cane and going out in more of a blaze of glory by defending Javan and Kirsten against an intruder. I understand why the showrunners made that choice, but what I liked about your version is that it highlights what we call the social model of disability – that’s there’s nothing “wrong” with being disabled, but the limiting factor we face is a world that often doesn’t have the right accommodations for our needs. Ramps and lifts and smooth pavements mean that wheelchair users can be independent and get around, but without that infrastructure we’re trapped. Frank knew this, and knew that even if they could get him down the stairs he’d never be able to navigate a dying city, and chose to sacrifice himself so that his brother could live – it’s a beautiful part of the book.
Sorry, that was a _very_ long lead in to my actual question – was there a particular part of the show that was particularly weird for you to watch as the creator of that universe? Not necessarily better or worse, just… wildly different from how you’d pictured it in your head?
Hi! I just finished reading Sea of Tranquility last week. I started the Glass Hotel this week. I’m a huge fan of your writing.
I read Station Eleven last year and I adored the setting. I could not get enough of the characters and their stories. Will there be any novels in the Station Eleven post pandemic world? Maybe with the same characters or maybe with new ones navigating the ‘new world’?
Also: Do you read your book reviews on Goodreads etc??
Well, heck. A lot of unanswered questions here. But I’d love to know if you’re a morning, afternoon, or knight rider? Or all over the place? Also, do you write every day? Thanks a bunch, I love hearing a bit more about the process. And the little idiosyncrasies that writers have while working. Thx for the books ❤️.
I JUST finished (and started) Station Eleven this Sunday and was wondering: when you write a book that jumps from scene to scene across time, are you writing the snips individually and then trying them out in different orders? Or writing something longer chronologically and then distributing its parts? (Or knowing exactly where things are going to go already with no rearrangement or distribution needed??)
Any favorite poems/poets you’re reading or have read recently?
In Station Eleven a character experiences withdrawal from Venlafaxine. What inspired you to include this bit?
I was taking Venlafaxine at the time I read the book, and did experience the withdrawal myself, when I would forget to take it and when I switched to another option. It is one of the most intense withdrawals I’ve ever experienced. I really enjoyed that part of the book because I don’t know anyone else that has experienced it.
Why you got so many names?