~ Bonnie Garmus ~

Last month it was time for the annual writers’ festival, which I attended with my writing group. I have reported on my experiences at the festival for the past few years, sharing the rich literary fare. However, it’s more fun going to the festival with the Fabulatores because we’re book lovers and it’s a joy to share these things with like-minded friends. My trusty notebook was brought out of the archives again, and I’m pleased to say there are at least six pages left, so it will live to see another year.
The cultural gem that is the writer’s festival started in 1999 and with each year has grown in popularity. The festival has become such a highlight that if you wait a couple of weeks to ponder the array of opportunities on offer, you severely limit your ability to partake in any of them. When we went to book the events and master classes we wanted to see this year we were out of luck, half the sessions had already sold out. We plan to act like lightning next year, especially for the master classes, which only take a maximum of thirty students and sell out long before everything else.

This year, we booked two paid events and managed to squeeze in a freebie in between.
Of the paid events, the first was Bonnie Garmus: Lessons in Chemistry. Bonnie was a delight with a wicked sense of humour. The interviewer, comedienne Michelle A’Court, made the perfect match for her crackling wit, and the pair had us laughing often.
Having come from a professional background as a copywriter and creative director working in the fields of medicine, technology, and education, Bonnie made her “debut” as an author at the age of 64. A “global phenomenon,” her novel Lessons in Chemistry has sold 7 million copies. During the conversation, we learned that this was not her first attempt at writing a book, however, as is common with most “debut” novels, it was preceded by many failed attempts. We laughed when Bonnie told us she had written one behemoth, which she had sent to a prospective agent who told her she could never represent someone who would write a 700,000-word novel. A’Court joked that that agent was probably eating her words right now.

Lessons in Chemistry is about a female scientist-turned-TV-cook struggling against the oppression of sexism in the 1960s. It was born out of the frustration Bonnie experienced as ‘the only female in the room’ at copywriter meetings. One day, she presented ideas for a major campaign to a reaction of silence until a male colleague stole her ideas and claimed the kudos, which stoked Bonnie’s indignation. “Instead of doing my work (that afternoon) I wrote the first chapter of Lessons in Chemistry. I wrote my role model – Elizabeth could say all the things I couldn’t say.”
Halfway through writing the book, Bonnie realized she had set it in the era when her mother would have been a mom. It occurred to her that her mother had not been happy. When her mom found out she was pregnant, she gave up her beloved career as a nurse, not returning to work until after her children were fully grown. “What a waste of talent of that generation. That was one of the most depressing eras for women. My mother’s friends said we needed an Elizabeth Zott to talk to us. Men love the humour in the book, but women have lived through a lot of these things, and it’s not as funny.”
Why was the book about chemistry? “Chemistry is the science of balance. Men and women need balance. This book is about the balance between the good days and the bad days.”

I found it fascinating that Bonnie’s background as a copywriter set her up perfectly for her second life as an author. “We write tightly,” she explained. It also instilled a stubborn belief in her writing ability. “I think structure is king and dialogue is queen. As a copywriter, you’re a listener. I like to listen. I write dialogue to sound the way people talk.”
Bonnie’s writing hits a nerve globally. She told us that everywhere she had travelled while promoting the book, people thought she was writing about them. “The Koreans asked if all the characters were Korean, and then the same thing happened in Turkey when they thought all the characters were Turkish. I love that because although we seem different, it means we are 99% the same.” Lessons in Chemistry is a book that crosses cultures and generations equally well will stand the test of time. It was a standout session, to be sure.

Talk to you later.
Keep creating!
Yvette Carol

“Sexism is unscientific.” ~ Bonnie Garmus

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