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Stories, perhaps, are what truly distinguish humans from every other creature on our planet. Stories, sometimes, are what save us.
I realized that I shouldn’t shrug off my work, because it’s about a pandemic. Maybe instead, what I did was write a book that acknowledged the pandemic. My hope is that I Miss You, I Hate This helps young people process all the loss they’ve endured the last few years.
Stories are a vital tool in showing there is nothing to fear, that there is another side to the narrative we might have been told. It is only through such stories that we can learn about—and from—different lives and cultures, and hopefully bring people together.
After her death, Mary’s friend Dr. Bertha Van Hoosen said, “Dr. Mary’s life should stand out to remind us that when people do not think as we do, do not dress as we do, and do not live as we do, that they are more than likely to be half a century ahead of their time, and that we should have for them not ridicule but reverence.”
Bhai For Now is loosely based on my brothers and their relationship. I knew whatever project I worked on after Barakah Beats would have the brother dynamic that I grew up watching so intimately.
Everyone has a bit of magic in them, whether it’s easy to see, or buried a little. Finding your own magic can help you recognize it in others too, and sometimes others will see it in you before you see it in yourself.
This creative non-fiction short story depicts Harper Glenn’s childhood self-discovery a non-binary identity. It unearths how the void of non-representation in their community inspired them to create BIPOC and LGBTQIA-centered fictional narratives.
We all have fears. We all have struggles. Reading stories that allow us to face some of the spookiest, scariest things the world has to offer in a non-intimidating environment is a great way to balance out those fears.
My latest middle grade novel, Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet, presented my biggest challenge yet: to write a story about a middle schooler’s anxiety about the climate crisis-- the most monumental “tough topic” of our lifetime—and make it both entertaining and accessible to kids.
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