Emma Straub’s paperback release of her NY Times Bestseller This Time Tomorrow is coming to us soon on May 16! She kicks off her book tour very soon too, and today I want to celebrate by revisiting my conversation with Emma from last year.
I wore red lipstick the entire week leading up to talking to Emma Straub about the full mess of life. The interview is long and fragmented and also the audio cuts in and out. But I have to share it anyway because, and I am completely embarrassed to say, I am in love with Emma.
Emma Straub is an American author and bookstore owner. She and her husband run the store Books Are Magic (an amazing name for a store and totally true statement). Her fourth bestselling novel, This Time Tomorrow is a semi-autobiographical novel involving time travel. For Emma, she doesn’t choose to do anything differently in the past or visit the big sort of moments we all imagine shaped us. This Time Tomorrow revisits the small moments, that often go underrepresented that also make up a big part of who we are as people. It is also a tale of longing for normalcy and comfort.
My favorite parts of the interview are talking about perfectionism. I don’t know if I meet as many people like her who are as ok with openly talking about how perfectionism is not their thing. As you might have guessed, I totally relate to this. “I have never edited anything before I sent it.” She talks about running forward without fear (I am sure she has fear, it just seems to be tempered by the foundation of her friends and family). It is so interesting how all of my life, I have been told that the real creative process is in the editing and refining. And for my friend Nina LaCour, that is where the magic happens. It is nice to know that whatever works for you, go with that.
Perfection is the death of all good things, perfection is the death of pleasure, it’s the death of productivity, it’s the death of efficiency, it’s the death of joy.
We also explore the topic of having kids, and Emma talks about having kids as being an enriching experience for her. By having access to diverse relationships her understanding of everything expands. Although, she does have time envy, she admits, about her friends without kids. There is really no clear answer on the topic, but for me, having kids is an experience, even when it is hard (and oh it is SOOOOO hard) that I am glad I did. I crave intense feelings and meaning, and having a child for me highlights the fragile, precious nature of being alive. Not to mention the lack of control and uncertainty. If you want to have control and be certain about things, I would not recommend it.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I do. I have never interviewed someone who I felt like my life had paralleled, whose outlook could have been my own, who I couldn’t find a single thing to contradict. I know I know, I only talked to her for an hour, and I know that I am a fan. But you will see there is something about the way she talks in circles and how she is open and honest and present but also somewhere else.
Perfect is the enemy of the good