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Anissa Gray is the author of the novel The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls. She is also an award-winning journalist whose work has been featured in The Washington Post, CNN, and The Cut. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her wife.
This bio was last updated on 03/31/2023. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.
Do aspects of your own childhood in western Michigan feature in the Butler family's story?
My father is a pastor, and I grew up in a close-knit church community. That aspect of my life is very much present in the Butler family's story. It is, perhaps, most vividly seen when Viola attends a prayer service at her childhood church. She alludes to the kindness and warmth she felt growing up as part of that congregation, which mirrors my own affection for the church community that was such a part of my early life.
There is also the complicated tie to home and small-town life. Growing up, I was always eager to get out into the wider world. But there is also a lot I miss about my hometown. Family and community, of course, but also the beauty of the land and every season of Michigan weather (yes, even winter). I believe that emotional draw and need for distance is reflected in the different ways members of the Butler family reject or cling to different aspects of home.
You mention in the introduction to your book that you grew up in a devoutly Christian home. Which sibling's views on religion most closely mirror your own?
I hadn't considered this before, but I think there are shades of my views reflected in more than one of the ...
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