On Sunday, March 13th I had the pleasure of attending An Evening with Jodi Picoult. It was a multimedia experience with her friend, Ellen Wilber, who wrote the lyrics and sings on the companion CD to Jodi’s book, Sing you Home.
Ms. Picoult did two separate readings of Sing You Home and Ellen performed 3 songs from the CD. Jodi explained that she wanted to give her main character, Zoe a voice and for the reader to hear it, that is why there is a CD with the book. Each song on the CD corresponds with a chapter in the book and Jodi recommended that the reader listen to the song and then read the corresponding chapter to have the best experience. One of the songs that Ellen sang, was Sammy’s Song, named after Jodi’s daughter, of the same name. Sammy is also a character in the book.
Sing you Home is wanting to have a child, more than it is about sexual orientation. However, Jodi decided to write a book about gay rights because she views it as the last human right we haven’t tackled in North America. While writing the book, her son came out and told his parents that he was gay. According to Jodi, shis was actually no surprise to them. Her hope for her son and others is that they don’t have to jump through extra hoops just to get married and have kids.
When Jodi said that it was time for questions from the audience, I asked, “I understand that Zoe would want her own child but wouldn’t it be easier for Vanessa to have a baby with a sperm donor? Jodi said, “Zoe tried for ten years to have a child while married to Max through in vitro and there were 3 fertilized embryos there to be used. (for those who haven’t read the book, Max was an anti-gay activist and would not give permission to Zoe to use the embryos, which were fertilized with his sperm).
Another audience member asked what Jodi’s favorite book was that she wrote. Jodi answered, “Second Glance, about racial hygiene in the U.S. before Hitler. She was also asked who her favorite author was and she answered, “Alice Hoffman.”
Jodi Picoult is the author of 18 novels, published in 34 countries, and in 4 languages. I have only read one of her books, My Sister’s Keeper. I don’t often read real commercial authors like Jodi Picoult but I really enjoyed the evening and may read more of her books in the future. I am quite interested in Second Glance.