Linny and Nancy start off the show with a discussion about the Netflix series REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, a former Front Porch Book Club selection. We felt special ownership over the book because we loved having its author, Shelby Van Pelt on our show. Today we interview Lindsey Goldstein about her book, GAP YEAR. Lindsey Goldstein has always loved coming-of-age stories, from A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN to Judy Blume novels. Inspired by these stories and her own journey of reinvention, she enjoys writing women’s fiction about Gen X women at a crossroads in their lives. Lindsey began her writing career with essays about love and parenting and has published pieces in places such as THE NEW YORK TIMES and THE CHICAGO STORY PRESS. She is an active member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. She holds a BA in Anthropology with a focus on Latin American Studies from Princeton University. Lindsey lives in Southern California with her family and rescue dog, Maggie. When she’s not writing, she works as a physical therapist and enjoys running, hiking, and cooking for her family. Lindsey tells us that she started writing with personal essays when she was 39 years old. She always enjoyed telling stories, however. At the cusp of 40, she decided there was only gain to try her hand at becoming a novelist. She wrote her first novel in her early 40s. GAP YEAR was her third novel and first published one. After college, she worked in the film industry and then became a physical therapist. Lindsey’s time in the film industry whetted her appetite for being on the creative, rather than administrative side of the couch. She wrote several screenplays. Feedback she got from one friend, was that her writing was more book appropriate than film appropriate. In retrospect, Lindsey believes he was right, though she was annoyed at the time! Lindsey tells us that she has been to Ecuador. She never climbed Cotopaxi, but just like Jane, she did swim with the sea lions and penguins on Galapagos. She did a lot of research to ensure that her descriptions were current. Lindsey also briefly studied ecology and evolutionary biology, then she met Organic Chemistry, and switched her major to anthropology. Jane arrives in Ecuador, pretty unprepared for climbing a volcano. Linny loved that Jane failed. Jane did very little research. Lindsey tells us that this was by design because Lindsey wanted this trip to Educator to be the first unplanned thing Jane had ever done. Linsdey says she had Jane stay at a hostel and be surrounded by younger people because Jane’s budget was tight and being surrounded by others made the narrative easier. She also wanted Jane to be in contrast, life experience-wise, to the younger people. Lindsey also stayed in a hostel when she visited Ecuador. Linny and Nancy loved Jane’s relationship with Laura. At first, Jane just needed Laura’s help. Eventually, they become friends. Lindsey says she doesn’t have a million friends, but says you do need individuals in your life to give you perspective and this is what Jane and Laura were able to give to each other. Linny liked that things were messy for Jane because it felt more realistic to her. It’s through struggle that the characters grow. Lindsey says there is no one life’s that is perfect, except on social media, and she doesn’t believe it. Speaking of youthful dreams, Lindsey would like to start taking 2-week long hikes around the world. The writing, also, was something she has wanted to do and she is working on another book. Lindsey loved Bill Bryson’s A WALK IN THE WOODS. Linny and Nancy disagreed about Clark. Nancy felt some sympathy for him as being a stranger in his own family and felt he inadvertently blurted out that he wanted a divorce at a time he didn’t mean to. Linny thought he was a weasel who couldn’t wait to tell Jane he wanted a divorce. Lindsey felt more like Nancy did about Clark. Lindsey feels Clark could have communicated his dissatisfaction with Jane before it ended in an affair and divorce. She believes it’s unlikely that Jane would have moved to Ecuador if the marriage had stayed intact because she had a spouse who was not supportive. Lindsey, however, says that Linny is entitled to her own opinion about Clark. Linny said she resonated with Jane’s busy life and felt Clark’s neediness was his issue. Linny comments that Jane needs more self-awareness in her life and awareness of what is happening with others around her. Linny enjoyed Jane’s growth in this area throughout the book. Lindsey says she believes Jane was aware of the spark with Alan, but that she purposely did not want to see him in a romantic light. Nancy says Jane’s lack of awareness is partially because she is so centered on her daughter, Liza. She has trouble allowing Liza to make her own decisions. In a way, this is also a story of Liza’s independence from Jane. Nancy thought Lindsey handled the bumpy road to young adult independence very well. Lindsey says the relationship between Jane and Liza was partially modeled on her relationship with her own mom, but also on her relationship with her daughter. She is unsure that the young generation is prepared for the independence that we had as young people. Many young people are over-reliant on their parents for information, decision-making, and emotional support. Lindsey says that when she went to Ecuador for her gap year, she could only call her parents once a month. This carried on when she returned to the US for college. That meant that Lindsey had to become independent very quickly. Lindsey thinks the ease of access through cellphones has enabled this. Lindsey enjoys reading relatable stories and these are the stories she enjoys writing. Linny says the relatability in GAP YEAR was very strong for her, especially the relationship between Jane and Liza and Jane’s journey to find herself as an empty nester. Lindsey tells us she has completed another novel which is now in edits, and is just beginning the one after that. The nearly completed one has a protagonist who is a writer whose life becomes her unfinished manuscript. Lindsey likens this book to those of Rebecca Serle’s IN FIVE YEARS and Ashley Poston’s alternate reality books. Nancy notes that passion is a strong theme in GAP YEAR and it sounds like Lindsey’s next book. Lindsey says pursuing your passions, even in small steps, is important. It’s also important to recognize that failure happens, too, but you have to keep going. She thinks this is good for her kids to see, too. Lindsey says readers may stay in touch with what she is up to on: Website: https://www.lindseygoldsteinauthor.com/ Substack: https://lindseygoldstein.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldsteinlindsey/ After the interview, Linny reflects that she has enjoyed interviewing authors and has found them kind and interesting where the ideas come from. The authors differ from she expected, which was more bookish and not personable. Nancy reiterates this is a great beach read.