Shades of Gray: Lori Rader-Day discusses "The Day I Died" at Aunt Agatha's

INTERVIEW PREVIEW WRITTEN WORD

Lori Rader-Day

Lori Rader-Day photo by Iden Ford.

“This is a book that will get under your skin and stick with you,” said Aunt Agatha’s co-owner Robin Agnew of Lori Rader-Day’s psychological thriller The Day I Died. “It’s a book that shows multiple sides of the story, not in terms of black and white but shades of gray.”

On Thursday, May 18, at 7 pm, Rader-Day joins Aunt Agatha’s monthly book club to discuss her novel. The author is the recipient of the 2016 Mary Higgins Clark Award and the 2015 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. The Day I Died tells the story of Anna Winger, a handwriting expert who is called into an investigation of a missing toddler. Anna has tried to keep her secrets hidden in the past as she moves along in life with her teenaged son. But everything comes spilling out when her son disappears and she is forced to confront painful memories from a past from which she is still trying to hide.

While the book has many interesting the layers, one of the most intriguing is the profession of the main character. Rader-Day said, “If not for the handwriting angle, I don't know if this story would exist in any form. I found a book on the topic in the library in 2007, wrote a short story, was told by a writing teacher that it was not a short story but a novel, and then over the next two years wrote the full novel draft. Then I put it away for years while I wrote and published two more books. What drew the story back out of its grave was the character of Anna Winger -- I just liked her, and I wanted her to have a shot -- and the handwriting, which I knew could be fun for readers. And, yes, for me!”

The book also deals with domestic violence, which, unfortunately, is as timely today as it was when Rader-Day wrote the short story a decade ago. When asked if anything in particular motivated this aspect of the book, the authors said, “No one incident inspired the story, and I have no direct experience -- but if you're paying attention at all you know there are so many cases of abuse and so many that result in the death of the victim and sometimes of the children in the family, too. Since I revealed that I was writing about the topic, I've had friends confide in me for the first time that they survived bad situations. It's just a shockingly prevalent problem in our country, and so, of course, worth writing about. I knew someone who was killed by an ex-boyfriend despite getting help, doing everything right. I didn't use her story, but I had in her mind as I wrote. I wanted the story of someone who got away to respect those who didn't.”

In an ever-changing literary landscape, Agnew believes that book clubs are ever more important. The club at Aunt Agatha’s has been meeting for 23 years. “If you are a reader, you are reading anyway. It gives you a chance to read a book that you might not have chosen to read, then gather with others to discuss it where you might hear things that you missed when you read the book or gain a different perspective from other members.”

Agnew shares her excitement about the meeting with Rader-Day. Most of the book club will have read the novel, so Agnew suspects that they will talk about Rader-Day’s writing process and perhaps the domestic abuse and sense of fear that pervades the book. “Having authors come to the book club to talk about their work is just an experience that you can’t replicate any other way.” Agnew met Rader-Day at a conference and asked her to come to the store. “We have many events like this, some of which aren’t huge and so you end up having wonderful conversations with incredible people who are creative and smart. It’s really the best part of my job!”

Rader-Day shares this enthusiasm. “I love talking to readers at bookstores and libraries -- it's definitely one of the perks of being a writer! I'm especially excited to visit Aunt Agatha's. It's my first trip there, but everyone knows Aunt Agatha's!”


Patti Smith is a special education teacher and writer who lives in Ann Arbor with her husband and cats.


The Lori Rader-Day book club/author event takes place at Aunt Agatha’s, 213 South Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor, on Thursday, May 18, at 7 pm.