Do I Have To Vote For Hillary Clinton?

After 15 years of working in politics and media, when people started asking me if I supported Hillary Clinton for the presidency all I felt was a gigantic brain fog and the tugging of my heartstrings. I couldn't tell which way was up anymore. I've worked with some of the most traditionally-powerful women in the world, studied the field and the issues, and had my own experiences with misogyny and violence. They all blurred together. Hillary Clinton was my childhood hero, and inspired me to be an ambitious woman. At 35, it feels like feminism and gender roles are at a critical turning point in America — one which some of our predecessors aren't quite wrapping their heads around and my generation may be taking for granted. It comes at a time when the pros and cons of identity-based voting are emerging as a serious factor for the country's electorate, commensurate with our changing demographics. Many Americans will have to face oversimplification just to gain representation, while ultimately trying to cast ballots based on the best possible policy approach. It's a welcome-but-murky science at best. Before I could have anything interesting to say on the subject, I sought out first to process my own life. In the fall of 2015, I fled my life in Los Angeles and rented a condo in the beautiful Palm Desert a couple hours east, where for weeks I spoke only to my pilates instructor and scribbled notes all over the walls like the guy in A Beautiful Mind. It was a weird-but-good time. The result was a unique story that came from my heart. The book's characters and themes are all composites and variations on my real experiences. Writing was cathartic and eye-opening. I opted to write fiction for several reasons. Foremost, I didn't want to be another blowhard pundit preaching to the choir. I also wanted to create an alternate universe where difficult conversations had room for gray areas; this is the kind of reflective opportunity we no longer experience in mainstream media or crowd-sourced internet hysteria. And, of course, I'm a book nerd. This moment has been in the making since I read Anne of Green Gables back in second grade. As I started to understand what happened to me, I pushed myself to attempt to articulate broader societal trends. I teach college students, so I thought about the kinds of questions I get from them. I prioritized providing them with a story that would illuminate their unique moment as young voters. However, this book is one that folks of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy. Frankly, it doesn't fit in one genre or on a specific shelf in the bookstore, which is exactly why I opted to self-publish. It was scary, but I'm a populist. I listened to Macklemore's song Victory Lap every morning, savoring the words: "Nowadays make good music, the people are your label." I wrote a compelling story, and now I entrust it to those souls who will find it. Don't be fooled by its chick lit vibes. While certainly a zany adventure, this book is rigorous, serious, and sometimes quite dark. Just like me. :)