Dive into the creative mind of Caitlin Buhr, whose novels stir the imagination and touch the heart. In this insightful interview, Caitlin shares the profound influences and experiences that shape her storytelling—from the catalytic reading of The War of Art to her vivid dreams that inspire narratives. Discover how Caitlin’s background in political science and personal journeys through grief and curiosity breathe life into her characters and plots.
But First, Who is Caitlin Buhr?
Caitlin Buhr is a writer living in Madison, Wisconsin. This is her first novel. Caitlin’s self-published work of nonfiction, A More Convenient Fate, explores what an Al Gore presidency might have looked like in the early 2000s. Drawing on her political science background, Caitlin is currently revising her second novel, a work of speculative fiction that follows a family during a constitutional crisis and the subsequent split of the United States into two countries.
Caitlin received her BA from Lawrence University and her MPA from Bowling Green State University. When she’s not writing, Caitlin works as a teacher and enjoys running and playing video games with her husband.
Caitlin Buhr’s Books:
- What inspired you to start writing, and how did you decide to pursue it professionally?
I used to write a lot of poems and songs. Writing dark and angsty poems got me through middle and high school! In college and grad school I had a lot of stories tumbling around in my head, but I was always too stressed out to put them on paper.
Then, while living in Seattle in 2018, I discovered the book The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.. Pressfield advocates for making art for the sake of the art itself. He says if you want to make art, you should not do it for recognition, or for money or fame or so that your parents will be proud—you should make art, or tell stories, because that art and those stories have intrinsic value. They must be created because the world needs them.
After reading that book, I decided to do something I’d been wanting to do since, like, 2004: research what might have happened in the US, and the world, if Al Gore had become president after the 2000 election. That research culminated into my self-published book A More Convenient Fate.
When I finished that, I wanted to write another political nonfiction book. But then I had a weird dream about a therapist giving other patients my personal info, and I began to write A Sister Ago in 2019. It started out as a short story, and then I just kept writing and writing!
I kind of fell into pursuing writing professionally. When I finished A Sister Ago, edited and revised the crap out of it, and then when a few people told me it was decent, I started looking into ways to get it published. During that long process, I began to write another novel (the first draft of which I’ve now finished). So writing is…what I do now? I’m still surprised by that!
- How much research do you typically do for your books, and do you find this process exciting or challenging?
With the Al Gore book, I spent more time researching than writing, as that book was basically a political analysis.
With A Sister Ago, I researched frequently abused prescription drugs quite a bit. When my cousin read one of the first drafts, she asked me, “Did you do a lot of drugs as a teenager, Caitlin?” I didn’t! I knew a lot of people who did, though, and many were my friends. I think most writers research by observing people closely. All of that being said, I have taken a drug I wasn’t prescribed, and I have been drunk before, so I know the way those substances feel.
I researched a movement of sorts for this book, too, but I don’t want to say more because it’s a big spoiler. I find researching both exciting and challenging! I love research but there’s always that worry that I’m not doing something justice. It’s hard to know when you’ve researched enough.
- What was the main inspiration behind “A Sister Ago,” and why did you choose to explore themes of drug addiction and sibling relationships?
I lived in Seattle for four years and during that time, I had two therapists. One was fantastic and changed my life. The other, the first one I had, was not great. He wasn’t corrupt and he certainly didn’t share my personal info with anyone, but he wasn’t a good fit for me and he always seemed jaded. I had a dream one night that he told me he shared my contact info with another client of his. And that’s what inspired A Sister Ago!
I am very interested in family dynamics. In his work of flash fiction “Sticks,” George Saunders writes about a family patriarch’s obsession with decorating a pole in the front yard. This line–“The first time I brought a date over she said: what’s with your dad and that pole? and I sat there blinking” — beautifully demonstrates how every family has funny, weird dynamics and behaviors and relationships, and we all grow up thinking those things are normal and universal until someone outside the family tells us that they’re not.
I don’t have a sister and I’ve always wondered if there’s a particularly difficult dynamic between sisters during adolescence. I have an older brother, and I feel like it was more of a given that we’d be different people, with different interests. But I see sisters and I hear comparisons, like “she’s the prettier one,” and that just sounds like such a struggle. So I wanted to explore that.
I also wanted to write about how older siblings feel a drive to protect their younger siblings. I’m the youngest, so I don’t know that drive personally. But I remember how my brother’s entire energy shifted the time we were trapped together in a snowstorm in the middle of nowhere when we were both in high school. I remember how his focus shifted to making sure I was warm enough.
I wanted to explore how it feels to have that drive when suddenly, your sibling doesn’t want help from you, when suddenly, your younger sibling is farther along in “growing up” – partying, dating, being cool – than you.
I wanted to explore drug addiction because it affects millions of people and I don’t see it discussed enough in an honest way.
- What were some challenges you faced while writing about such sensitive topics as drug addiction and the impact of loss within a family?
Some parts of the book were very difficult to write. There’s this one line that I almost didn’t include because it hurt so badly to even type it: “What will we do with all her stuff?” There are these things you have to deal with when someone dies that you just don’t think about until it happens, and those things break you over and over again. What do I do with her clothes? I can’t even pick her clothes up because they still smell like her.
A big challenge I faced while writing about drug addiction was just trying to get it right. I wanted to evade stereotypes and really get a sense of how someone falls into a dangerous addiction. In Rachel’s case, it was incremental.
- Can you share any personal experiences or professional insights that informed the development of the plot or characters in “A Sister Ago”?
The first people to read my book—my husband and my dad—pointed out that the main character, Christine, wasn’t distinct enough in my first draft. It almost felt like she was a vessel for telling the story instead of a complicated character. So I built her up, and that took more time than I expected. Many drafts later I hope I created a believable, nuanced, flawed and annoying yet still likable character.
One very important skill I learned from Susanna Daniel, author of the novels Sea Creatures and Stiltsville, is about removing filters. She showed me how effective it is to change a sentence like “Christine noticed that the freckles on Rachel’s nose looked darker than usual” to “The freckles on Rachel’s nose seemed darker than usual.” I don’t need to say, “she noticed,” or “she saw,” – I need to just show what the MC noticed and saw. This better immerses the reader. Thank you, Susanna!
- What do you hope readers take away from Christine’s journey throughout the book?
Even though Christine must contend with a crooked therapist, she tries therapy again later and it goes a lot better. So I hope readers see the value of therapy.
I also hope readers, especially millennials like me, come away from the book feeling patience with themselves and where they’re at in life. There isn’t one way to “be an adult,” despite what some (often older) people tell us. It’s okay to leave a good job, it’s okay to work somewhere that has nothing to do with your degree, it’s okay to keep renting, it’s okay to not have a partner yet at 30.
- What advice would you give to someone dealing with grief, similar to Christine’s experience in the book?
Talk about it. Talk to someone who also loved the person you lost. Unfortunately, people who didn’t know your loved one may not understand. But other people who loved them will come close to understanding what you’re feeling. Talk about your loved one when you think of them—what would she say about this outfit? What would he think of this movie?
Read about death. Read poems and stories about losing someone. Losing someone you love to death is the most visceral, human sadness. Millions of humans before us have gone through it, and they’ve written about it. No one’s experience is the same, of course, but what helped one person may help you. In my case, and this will be very obvious if you’ve read A Sister Ago, Pablo Neruda’s poem “Only Death” speaks to me acutely about the arbitrary and also universal nature of death. I would also recommend the book The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs.
- Are there any hidden symbols or easter eggs in “A Sister Ago” that readers should look out for?
The onion! The onion is significant. As I wrote A Sister Ago, I was always thinking about this one picture book I read as a kid. That picture book appears later in the book.
- What part of the book was the most emotionally challenging for you to write, and why?
Christine’s week spent at her parents’ immediately following Rachel’s death was the most emotionally challenging part to write. Those first weeks after a loved one’s death are the period of time during which you still can’t comprehend the loss you’re enduring. It’s the period of time when you still wake up in the morning, and your body feels absolutely awful from poor sleep and crying, and yet you forget for an instant that your loved one is gone. It’s so raw and so overwhelming and needless to say, I felt very sad writing about it.
- Looking forward, are there new directions or genres you are interested in exploring in your future projects?
I recently finished the first draft of my second novel, which draws on my political science background and goes in quite a different direction than A Sister Ago. This novel is speculative, taking place in the 2040s after the US has split into two different countries.
There is a heavy anxiety in the United States right now, as partisanship has come to a head. I’m very excited about this new novel because it offers something I don’t see in media right now: the possibility that we actually need each other, that we need “the other side.” It also tells a story about a possible future for the United States that isn’t doomsday and also isn’t rosy: it’s both, and neither. It’s complicated.
Caitlin, we extend our heartfelt thanks for the insightful interview. Your thoughts and ideas about your book “A Sister Ago” were a delight to read, and we send our best wishes for your upcoming publishing ventures.
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