Jennifer Weiner Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Interview

Jennifer Weiner talks about the impact of the 2016 election upon the writing of her novel Mrs. Everything; and, in an earlier piece, discusses what it takes to become a published novelist, including advice on finding an agent and getting published.

The Making of Mrs. Everything (2019)

Can you tell us about the title Mrs. Everything? Why did you choose that title and how is it indicative of what's in the book?

I have to give credit where credit is due: my husband thought of the title. I knew I'd be telling a story about a woman of my mother's generation, following her from her girlhood all the way to the present, and beyond, and telling the story of women in America through her eyes, and the eyes of her sister. My mom was born in 1943. She was a young woman in the 1960s, but, the way she tells it, by the time the Sixties became the Sixties, she was married, and a mother, and watching the world change from the sidelines. I wanted to write about a woman who missed everything – who missed her chance to participate in the great youth movement, the war protests, the counterculture, Woodstock, and also her chance at true love. And so – "Mrs. Everything." When you say it out loud, it's "misses everything."

This is your first book in four years — the world feels like a very different place since the last Jennifer Weiner novel came out. Do you think this book is different from your previous works? How is it similar?

After the 2016 election, I &#...