WEST SUBURBAN VIP | Meet Emily Giffin, Naperville Native & Best Selling Author
- Nov 2, 2018
- 2 min read
AMAZING STORY, PROVING DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE Recently featured at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, Giffin is a proud graduate of Naperville North Class of 1990. Her fondest memories are of simple things--going to one-dollar movies with friends at Ogden 6; working at Colonial Ice Cream with her then-boyfriend; playing soccer; working as the editor-in-chief of the high school newspaper; and cheering on the football team on Friday nights. Go Huskies!
She eventually went on to pursue law at University of Virginia Law School. “I’m not exactly sure why I decided to pursue a law degree. Looking back, I think I had the sense that I had to get a “real” job first—that I couldn’t graduate and promptly sit down to write a novel,” Emily says. “I took a lot of history and political science classes as an undergraduate so law school became a logical next step, but in the back of my mind, I knew I would always return to writing.”
After law school, Emily Giffin moved to Manhattan and practiced litigation for several years, but still dreamed of becoming a writer. Despite the rejection of her first manuscript, Giffin persisted - retiring from the legal profession - and writing Something Borrowed (2004) - proving dreams really do come true as she signed a two-book deal on both sides of the Atlantic.
Now, an acclaimed #1 New York Times Best Selling Author, Giffin has since released eight more novels; most recently, All We Ever Wanted, this past year. With this book, she knew she wanted to explore the themes of privilege and entitlement, especially how these relate to parenthood.
“I have twin sons who are now fourteen years old, as well as an eleven-year-old daughter, and I’ve begun to observe so much about the choices we make—both in my own household and in the wider community—and how sometimes even well-intentioned decisions can impact families in a negative way,” Giffin says. “I also wanted to explore what happens when our values are in conflict with something—or someone else—we hold dear.”
Although she holds a very special place in her heart for her book, Something Blue (2005), Giffin thinks All We Ever Wanted is probably her most well-written book, and the one for which she is the most proud.
Along the way, she has discovered that nearly every author—no matter how accomplished—has writer’s block over their career; but ultimately, Giffin believes that writing is mostly about hard work, perseverance, and keeping faith in yourself. -Kristen Kucharski, Features Writer
