'MotherPerson' set to release on Oct. 13
After months of anticipation following the completion of her latest fiction work, Molly Moynahan, an acclaimed author and writer from Leland, is readying for the release of her new novel, “MotherPerson,” on Oct. 13.
The book follows the story of the main character, Claire — a mother, wife, daughter, and caretaker — and her journey of personal reinvention as the life she thought was hers begins to unravel.
The story explores themes surrounding identity, family, and personal transformation, something Moynahan, 69, deeply relates to as she created the novel using inspiration from her own life experiences as a mother, however, the book is told through the identities of nuanced characters and a fictional world.
Moynahan, who has been writing novels since the 90s and has over 30 years of publishing experience, said getting to this point of the release of her newest novel and her return to fiction after more than two decades took persistence. That persistence is evident in the work she’s chosen to pursue over the years. Moynahan has served as a writing coach, a college essay expert, editor, biography and speech writer, English teacher, and as a high school academic coach throughout her time in the industry.
“At Northwestern Michigan College (NMC), I’m working with extended education, and I have a lot of people there, many of whom are retired, and when I see what it means to them to be writing their stories, it also reminds me that I’m really honored to be able to do this,” Moynahan said. “I said to my husband the other day, this is such a miracle at 69 to be able to publish a whole new novel, so its also keeping that in mind… I’m so lucky to be able to do this. So gratitude is part of this.”
She’s never stopped writing, and when Moynahan was presented with the opportunity for her most recent book deal with Empress Editions, she was, of course, ecstatic.
Moynahan also never thought publishing her memoir over a year ago via her Substack, which is a publishing platform for independent writers, would garner the kind of positive response that it did, but when the idea was proposed to transform her story into a fictional novel, she gladly accepted the challenge and created MotherPerson. The story is considered “autofiction,” a genre that blends real-life experiences with imaginative narrative techniques.
Novel writing has always been the form of writing that Moynahan has most connected to. The process of creating MotherPerson meant changing the names of characters and circumstances and then compressing certain points in the narrative, making it into the fictional story that it is now.
“So I got to say things that I couldn’t have said in the memoir, and then I also took some things out that just didn’t matter to the narrative because I wanted the book to work for people to read as a novel,” she said.
MotherPerson also allowed Moynahan the opportunity to dive into a topic she always wanted to write about: Becoming a mother.
“The book is about a person who had been in a lot of trouble and then came out of it, got help, and was eventually able to have her own child and a marriage. The marriage, in the end, wasn’t successful, but at the same time, its sort of healing, and the birth of the baby is a miracle and the greatest thing for the character,” she said.
Writing the memoir was healing for Moynahan, but converting parts of her story into the novel that is MotherPerson allowed her to showcase a work she’s also proud of and that she’s eager for people to read.
“Becoming a mother — it healed me, it also changed me, but it was also hard, and I’m kind of honest about that. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do that without writing this book,” she said. “That’s why its called ‘MotherPerson’ because I had that experience of ‘am I still a person?’ Everyone was calling me mother… there’s a whole identity thing that I think is fascinating and the book gave me the chance to write about that.”
Something Moynahan often likes to encourage and say to her writing students is to start on a new project rather than go back to an unfinished work, a piece of advice she is currently embracing as she continues creating and writing.
Moynahan, who has been writing for most of her life and who has found a fulfilling career in the art of storytelling and teaching, plans to keep writing for years to come. She continues to teach writing, and is staying busy working on her next novel.
With the book release set for Oct. 13, Moynahan is scheduled to make appearances at upcoming book signing events in Leelanau county. On Saturday, Oct. 10 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Moynahan will be selling and signing copies of MotherPerson at the Lake Leelanau Street Fair. On Oct. 15 at Gilchrist Farm Winery in Suttons Bay from 3-5 p.m., Moynahan will be doing another book discussion event. People can keep an eye out for other events by visiting her website https://mmwriting.com. Preorders of MotherPerson are available online at Moynahan’s website as well as at Barnes&Noble, Target, Books-A-Million, Walmart, Bookshop.org, and Booktopia. com.
