Jodi Picoult: Why Every Villain is the Hero of Their Own Story
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Why did Jodi Picoult choose to write Hollow Bones around the 9/11 anniversary?
So question for you, when is the right time, if any, to return to a trauma that so many people still carry in their bodies and their memories? That's one of the questions I explore in this deep, provocative conversation with iconic author Jodi Picoult. So Jodi and I, we both lived through 9-11 in New York City, and this conversation takes us into her new book, Hollow Bones, which is cast around that event, what those days felt like, what came after, and how shared grief can briefly unite people in a way that's both heartbreaking and strangely beautiful. We also talk about the pandemic because, once again, she's writing right into the center of collective disruption and the stories we tell ourselves to survive moments like that.
What I love about Jodi's work is that she doesn't hand you easy answers. She writes in the gray area. She wants you to see every side of a question, including the ones that make you really uncomfortable, and then decide for yourself what you believe. In this conversation, that shows up pretty much everywhere in the research behind hollow bones and her approach to that research in the psychology of lying and self-protection while telling yourself that you're actually doing it to save someone you love pain. We also wind around to the topic of book banning, gender discrimination in publishing, and her enduring belief that empathy is at the heartbeat of not only the work but of this human life. And we also get into what turning 60 has felt like for her, what it means to keep making art after three decades in the public eye, and why she recently got her first tattoo as a declaration that she is not done yet.
So excited to share this conversation with you. I'm Jonathan Fields, and this is Good Life Project. And we'll jump right in after this short break. The new book lands, I think, right around September 15th, which is pretty close to the 25th anniversary of 9-11. I was in New York City, as were so many people that I knew in New York City. I knew people who went to work that day and did not come home. What made you feel like now was sort of like the right time to drop into territory that arguably has also been really explored from almost every angle?
LESLIE KENDRICK And, you know, it's one of those things that everybody has a story about, right? Everybody knows where they were the minute that the planes crashed into the Twin Towers. And, you know, I think that for me, one of the most interesting things about writing is is choosing topics where your readers bring their own stories into the one
that you've
written as well. So there's not anyone who's going to be able to read this book and not be able to relate to it on that level. You know, if they were alive back then, obviously, who wasn't born yet, that's a different story. You know, so it felt to me like the right time. It wasn't too soon. And it also wasn't... It was coming at a time when I think we're going to see a very natural... return to discussions about 9-11, you know, now that we have a very big milestone coming up.
Yeah, I mean, that lands really strongly for me. I'm in Boulder, Colorado right now, but we were 30-year New York City lifers before that, and we were a pandemic move. So I was there. That was my home for decades before. And as horrifying as it was to be in the city in that moment, and you're right, I can tell you the couch that I was on, the color of the fabric, and exactly that moment will be seared in me forever forever. And I found myself actually volunteering unexpectedly about 30 feet from what they were calling at that moment the pile two days later. And so all of that is deep. It's like in my DNA at this point. I am not claiming in any way, shape or form to be one of like the heroic people who did all the incredible work.
It was complete chance that I was there, but, but you're right. Like there's a story that I will bring to it, that every other person will bring to it.
But the story
that, that really I haven't seen told, I'm curious how this land with you is what happened in New York in the six months that followed,
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why did Jodi Picoult choose to write Hollow Bones around the 9/11 anniversary?
0:00–9:06
2
How did Jodi’s personal experience of 9/11 shape the themes of shared grief in the book?
9:06–17:20
3
What parallels does Jodi draw between the pandemic and the aftermath of 9/11?
17:20–25:45
4
How does Jodi’s research on emergency preparedness inform the protagonist’s worldview?
25:45–33:06
5
What does Jodi reveal about the psychological impact of lying and self‑protection?
33:06–41:36
6
Why does Jodi consider herself a lifelong student of other people’s lives?
41:36–49:19
7
How does Jodi address book banning and gender discrimination in publishing?
49:19–54:57
8
What does Jodi say about aging, identity, and getting her first tattoo at 60?
54:57–1:01:02
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Good Life Project
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