Even in writing nonfiction, there are elements from fiction that I apply to the work and my work in general. There are themes that show up in every single book, and one of those themes is how women love each other and nurture each other and anchor each other. And so I’m always looking for that moment in someone’s life. If I’m researching them and telling their story, I’m looking for who loved them, who was an anchor for them, how did they survive what they went through? And I’m doing that for my character, and I’m doing that for a real person. And so with Oprah, when asking that question of her life, one of the answers was May Angelou and this amazing mentorship friendship that they had. And I knew that I wanted to include that. I know that she’s such an important person to Oprah, so I definitely thought that that should be a part of the book.
I also want young people to realize that these folks that we look up to who’ve done such amazing big things, went through hard stuff and also had help and support. And so no one can do anything all alone. And so I wanted to make sure that young people saw that even someone like Oprah who struggled and came from some tragic things that happened was able through a lot of healing and through poetry and through the nurturing of women in her life, she was able to then go and do all the things that she’s doing and that you need someone in your life. So who is that person for you? It will not be Maya, but who can you look to for support? And that she found her through literature, right? So she first read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and she realized, whoa, this someone else has my story and has gone through what I’ve been through.