Here’s a little secret: Lesley Kagen, wonder author, and I have a running Keanu Reeves joke between us. We pretend that Keanu visits one of us for a little while, then we, generously, send him back to the other person. We joke that he is madly in love with both of us, two middle aged women who spend much of their lives in their imaginations and try not to eat too much chocolate.

(That’s a lie. We eat all the chocolate we want.)

Look at these earrings Lesley sent me. Yes, they are Keanu Reeves earrings!!

We’re ever so slightly crazy. You get like this when you spend too much time with a whole bunch of people running around in your head.

Anyhow, in between our Keanu Reeves  jokes, we write.  Lesley, a New York Times best selling author, wrote an incredible book,  The Resurrection of Tess Blessing. I read it in about three days. I related to Tess, and to her life, and I think you might, too.

So, let’s begin.

Cathy Lamb: Lesley, give us the summary of The Resurrection of Tess Blessing.

Lesley Kagen:  After forty-nine-year-old Tess is diagnosed with breast cancer, she sets forth on a mission to complete her final TO-DO list before, what she’s sure is, her impending death. She needs to make peace with her sister, Birdie, scatter her mother’s ashes that she’s been keeping in her kitchen cupboard, rescue her daughter, Haddie, from an eating disorder, guide her teenage son, Henry, through a bumpy adolescence, and reignite the spark in her almost thirty-year marriage to her hubby, Will. A daunting task.

Thank God, she has help from Grace, the narrator, who may or may not be an imaginary friend, a wiser part of Tess, or her guardian angel.

As I see it, Tess is at that place in life, where so many of us get to at some point, where everything has fallen apart.

You then tell part of Tess’s story through her TO-DO list. Very clever. Why?

Like you, I’m a TO-DO lister from way back—I wrote my first one on papyrus—I think a lot of women are, given all that we have to deal with, so it seemed like a natural way to help organize the story. Especially since Tess is also wrestling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The flashbacks she experiences on a daily basis, along with the panic attacks, can sweep her away. And menopause isn’t helping either. The list helps keep Tess focused on the task at hand.

Ah, menopause….you curse me, you do, but back to the book.

Tess has an invisible friend. The invisible friend is the narrator. Where did that idea come from? 

Some of the story is based on my experience when I was diagnosed with breast cancer twelve years ago. I desperately needed a friend, but due to my need to keep what I was going through on the down-low, I conjured up a warm, wonderfully nurturing, and all-powerful pal by the name of Grace.

And now you’re a twelve year survivor. Congratulations, Warrior Woman. 

Why did you want to write a character in this time of life? (That would be, OUR time of life.)

There are so few books about women struggling to come to terms with middle-age, a time I think most of us find incredibly challenging. Our bodies our changing, our family structure, we’re experiencing empty-nest syndrome, and a score of other difficulties that I found perplexing and un-grounding. It’s a good time to come up with a resurrection list.

I’m all for that.

What are three things you love to do most in life?

1. Spend time with my family. My grandchildren are incredible.

2. Hike with my dog, the Amazing Gracie, in the woods and along the shoreline of Lake Michigan.

3. As an actress as well as a writer, I adore movies!

 

You are on an island. What are five things you’d bring along with you?

 

1. Pictures of my family and furry friends.

2. A boatload of books.

3. Yummy smelling candles.

4. An intergalactic cell phone.

5. My yellow umbrella.

(Keanu Reeves would be wonderful company, but I guess he’s not a thing, right?)

No, Lesley, Keanu Reeves is not a thing and he’s very offended that you said that. He’s sitting right next to me and wants to remind you that he’s a man.  A REAL man, with sensitive feelings. Sheesh.

He also told me to tell you that he’ll see you on Thursday for Thanksgiving and he wants to know if you can please make him pecan pie.  He loves your pecan pie. I get him for Christmas.

Thanks, Lesley, for the interview. Keanu says thank you, too.