Kristan Higgins: On Writing About the Complexity of Adoption in Fiction

Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, USA TODAY and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than 20 novels, which have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Her books have received dozens of awards and accolades, including starred reviews from Entertainment Weekly, People, Kirkus, The New York Journal of Books, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist.

The happy mother of two snarky and well-adjusted adults, Kristan enjoys gardening, mixology, the National Parks, and complimenting strangers on their children. She lives in Connecticut with her heroic firefighter husband, cuddly dog and indifferent cat. Find her online at KristanHiggins.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Kristan Higgins

Name: Kristan Higgins
Literary agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency
Book title: A Little Ray of Sunshine
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: June 6, 2023
Genre/category: women’s fiction/romance
Previous titles: Out of the Clear Blue Sky, Pack Up the Moon

Elevator pitch for the book: A kid walks into the bookstore you own with your slightly dotty grandfather. Surprise! It’s the kid you put up for adoption 18 years ago…the one you never told anyone about. Now the whole family—the whole town—realizes there’s a lot more to you than they ever suspected.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I grew up as the “good kid” in my family…the boring one you could count on to always help, do her chores, get good grades. On the one hand, I’m glad I didn’t give my parents any gray hair. On the other, I was kind of invisible. My siblings got a lot more attention because they were more…um…dramatic, let’s say.

Once, my mom said, “Kristan, I never have to give you a thought.” I know she meant it as a compliment, but it also told me just that…Mom didn’t think about me too much, because my brother and sister were keeping her busy (sorry, Hilly, but you invented “sulky teenager” way back when).

I wanted to write about that kind of experience…and then blow it up. Harlow is the oldest of the five Smith kids, and everyone but Harlow seems to have some drama going on. When the son she placed for adoption almost 18 years ago turns up in her town, her family has to deal with the idea that Harlow’s had this massive, life-changing experience they knew nothing about.

And not just her family…the whole town has to reconsider her, because that’s how small towns are. Matthew’s appearance also throws her back to when she was a scared 17-year-old, unsure and alone, trying to make the best decision for her unborn child. (Grab the tissues…you’ll need them!)

I also loved exploring the layered, complex, and hugely emotional experience of adoption from the points of view of the people involved—birth mother, adoptive parent, adoptee. Harlow loves kids, but she got pregnant before she herself was a true adult. How can she make an impossible decision? How did she feel after relinquishing her baby? What ripples (or tidal waves) does this have on the rest of her life?

If you’re an adoptee, people tend to think of you as “lucky” or “chosen,” and hey, maybe you are. Or maybe your adoptive parents are horrid. We shouldn’t make assumptions about how great life is supposed to be for an adoptee. I think there’s an inherent need to know your genetic history and culture, even when you have the best adoptive parents in the world. And if you don’t have great parents, the need is even stronger.

There are two adoptees in this story—Matthew, age 18, and Cynthia, 61. Cynthia’s experience was completely different than Matthew’s. She was never told she was adopted and has a lot of strong feelings and beliefs about her birth mother…until she gets an email saying that someone is looking for her and has been for some time. Matthew, meanwhile, wonders why Harlow didn’t keep him when she had this large, loving family.

If you’re an adoptive mom, I think it’s natural to wonder how your child thinks of you, judges you, loves you. Do they miss their birth mother on some primal level? Do they feel like they truly belong with you? Are they honest in talking to you about their feelings? Monica tries to be a perfect mother to Matthew, but no parent is perfect…and our kids let us know that all the time. I think writing Monica’s point of view was especially poignant for me, because once upon a time, my husband and I were thinking of adoption. It didn’t work out, but I spent a lot of time imagining what life would be like if it had. Strange to say I missed the child we didn’t get to adopt, but I did.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

About a year. And yes, the idea absolutely changed. At first, I didn’t want to include the point of view of the adoptive mom, until it was clear her story needed to be heard. I also had a very rosy idea of what adopting an infant was like. All those clichés—the brave, noble birth mother, those excellent, compassionate adoptive parents, the lucky, grateful child. Nah. No one’s story is the same.

Doing the research, reading books, listening to podcasts, and talking to dozens of adoptees really opened my eyes to the complexities of adoption. It seems like something that never has full closure. There’s always going to be a part of you that wonders what life would be like if you’d made another choice.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Learning moments? Yes! Listen to your team. My agent (Christina Hogrebe) and editor (Claire Zion) both have great instincts for places where I should lean in or step back. Sometimes, I think, “No, no, I can’t possibly…” but when I think about it for a day or two, I always change my mind.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

Absolutely! Certain characters change unexpectedly in each book I write. In this book, Cynthia, Grandpop, and Robbie all changed so much from where they’d been in my mind. I love that part of writing…it’s like my subconscious knows something that just pops up on my screen, and I think, “Yes! That’s why this has to happen. Got it.”

Robert Frost said, “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.” He knew a thing or two, that guy.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope they’ll ugly cry and laugh out loud. That’s the hallmark of my books, I think—laughter and tears and everything in between. But I write happy books, no matter what takes place in them, and my characters are always better off because of what they’ve gone through. That’s what we all hope for in life.

On the very last page, I hope my readers close the book and say, “Damn. I didn’t want it to end.”

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

There will always be someone more successful, more talented, more adored than you. Be happy for them, learn from them, and then get back to work.

While there’s no shortage of writing advice, it’s often scattered around—a piece of advice here, words of wisdom there. And in the moments when you most need writing advice, what you find might not resonate with you or speak to the issue you’re dealing with. In A Year of Writing Advice, the editors of Writer’s Digest have gathered thoughts, musings, and yes, advice from 365 authors in dozens of genres to help you on your writing journey.

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