Read to Know Basis: Sarah Ruiz-Grossman
The author of A Fire So Wild talks pet pigeons and the "weird, wonderful memoir" she can't stop talking about.
Read to Know Basis is a weekly interview series with authors. It features debut authors and established writers talking about reading, writing, and of course snacks. This series is free to all. If you like what you read considering upgrading to a paid subscription to support the work of Unstacked, and of course go out and buy the book!
is a writer and former reporter at HuffPost, where she covered the climate crisis and other social justice issues. Born and raised in New York City, she now lives in California. Her debut novel, A Fire So Wild (Harper, Feb 2024), is about a wildfire that creeps toward Berkeley and three families whose lives are upended as the heat and smoke descend upon the city, exposing the injustices lying under the city’s surface.Â
What are five words to describe your book?
Suspenseful, heart-filled critique of climate apathyÂ
What is the strangest thing you googled while researching/writing this book?
What happens to baby birds who can’t fly when wildfire smoke engulfs a city (spoiler: nothing good.)Â
When was the first time you really felt like an Author?
When I walked into my favorite bookstore in San Francisco, Dog-Eared Books, and saw my book on display beside Kiley Reid’s latest banger, Come & Get It. Surreal. Â
Describe your ideal reader?
A young adult frustrated by the way the world is structured, with all of its obvious injustices, and who is searching for a way to live a purposeful life that disrupts the status quo.Â
What is a piece of writing advice that you’ve received that you think is really bad? What is a piece of writing advice that you think is really good?
Advice I don’t love: I’ve often heard other writers push aspiring authors to join a writing group to be accountable to complete their work and receive feedback — and I would just caveat that, in my own experience, I’ve always found it really fulfilling to share my work-in-progress not with other writers, but with beloved friends, family and therapy group members (!!) — after all, most of your readers will ultimately not be other writers, and your close community is invested in the stories you want to tell and in your creative fulfillment in a way no one else will ever be.Â
Advice I often give: Don’t try to copy how authors you admire get their writing done — write whichever way gets you to the page and makes you feel playful and inspired. For me, that’s writing a couple hours a day, in the quiet of my apartment — even if I only get out a few paragraphs or pages — and then I try to get my body out in nature or in community with friends.
What are you reading right now? And what book are you desperate to read next?
I’m reading The Late Americans by
What book are you an evangelist for?
I can’t stop talking to people about the weird, wonderful memoir, How Far The Light Reaches, by Sabrina Imbler — if you love a queer coming of age story, if you love the Bay Area, if you love sea creatures or learning random facts about the world, their book is for you.
What is a book that changed the way you think about yourself and/or the world?
Winners Take All, by Anand Giridharadas, is a nonfiction critique of elite philanthropy, and it really challenged my notions of whether the wealthy and powerful can do any modicum of good by giving back — if you’re into sharp examinations of late-stage capitalism, this one’s for you.Â
What is one thing people would be extremely surprised to know about you?
I grew up in a New York City apartment with a street pigeon for a pet. He’d fallen from his nest and my mom took him in and by the time he could fly, he wouldn’t leave. His name was Helen and he woke me up in the mornings by pacing and cooing outside my bedroom door. While I ate breakfast, he ate Cheerios I broke into little bits, and while I showered, he’d take his bath in the sink. He was the best little buddy from when I was 3 years old until he died when I was 16.Â
Who is your literary crush?
Hands down, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah . I went with some friends to his reading for Chain-Gang All-Stars at Skylight Books in LA, and every one of us left having fallen in love with him. His delivery as he read — standing up, voice booming into the space — was mesmerizing. And his answers to the questions his book raised on abolition left us all changed, moving through the world with sharper gazes on injustice and more compassion for our common humanity. If you haven’t read his book, get on that. It’s too bad he doesn’t read the audiobook…
If you could not be a writer what would you do?
I’d be a high school English teacher. It was in Mrs. Reilly’s English class when I was 16 that I first fell in love with pulling books apart, word by word, passage by passage, finding new depth and meaning, play and delight in making a work of art my own through loving critique. It would be an immense privilege to share the joy of books with a room of full of hungry learners.Â
You’re invited to a literary potluck, what are you bringing?
I’m embarrassed to say: Diet Coke. I’m not a particularly inspired cook, and I’m mostly sober, so I’d bring something to sip on while we chat literature and life (also I’m addicted to the stuff).Â
Connect with Sarah: Website | Instagram | Twitter
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Helen the pigeon?! Diet Coke to the cookout?! I think Sarah and I would be friends!! Love all of this and I can't wait to read the book.
Yes, Diet Coke!!!