Meet Robin Roe.
Robin Roe has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s from Harvard. She counseled adolescents in Boston before she moved to Dallas to run a mentoring program for at-risk teens.
Author Links:
Goodreads Author
Goodreads Book
Now… onto the interview!
How did your experience as a counselor shape and influence A List of Cages?
Working with children and teens who experienced trauma taught me a great deal about resilience, and this shaped A List of Cages.
A List of Cages reveals the power of friendship. Why do you think friendship, especially teenage friendship, is so important? As social creatures, we need companionship to survive, but we’re living in an age of loneliness. Friendship makes us stronger, giving us support to cope with the challenges of life. Perhaps just as importantly, friendship teaches us how to care for other people. This is especially valuable in adolescence because the bonds formed at this age can set the tone for the bonds we’ll have in the future.
Did mental illness or mental disorder give birth to anything in A List of Cages?
Julian, one of the main characters, has PTSD. I also have PTSD so I was able to write about this from my experience.
Kirkus Reviews commented, “A triumphant story about the power of friendship and of truly being seen.” What was it like to write a coming of age story that touches about some of the darker, dirtier aspects of growing up and finding yourself? It was actually very healing. We tend to be so hard on ourselves, but when we’re seeing some of our struggles through characters, we can be objective—and kind. Now that A List of Cages has been published, it’s been incredible to hear from so many readers.
Raven C. Eckman 