Structuring the scene when Sophie talks to Liam for the first time was hard because I wanted to make time slow down literally on the page. I wanted to communicate a sense of altered reality. How was I supposed to do that? I spent a lot of time thinking about it.
Is there a character that you identify with in the novel?
Every character has parts of me in them. I’m like Jake because I can be singularly focused and content alone. I’m like Sophie because I can be youthfully idealistic. I’m like Professor Malchik because I used to expect my work to complete me. That being said, the character I identify with most is Sophie. She’s kind and loyal—to Jake, to her gut, to her dream.
At the end of the novel, Jake notes that “if he really did respect her once-in-a century genius, he’d have to honor her conclusion that, in things that really mattered, the mind didn’t matter at all. The answers weren’t in the head, they were in the heart”. Obviously, these are your own words. What does this message mean to you?
Sophie thinks that a simple life with Jake is the most fulfilling version of her time on earth. Achievement doesn’t feed her soul. Connection does.
Does this resonate with me? Yes.
The big difference between Sophie’s view of love and mine is that she’s very couple-focused, while I’m more family-oriented. She is so focused on pouring all of her love into one person, but I see a bigger world than that. I think that’s because, for most of the book, she’s younger than I am. Younger women are more concerned with romantic love and finding a partner. Now that I’m with my partner, I view us as a family that can grow and explore the world together—not as a twosome who can hide together from everyone else.
Another way I’ve aged slightly out of her perspective is in my appreciation for imperfections. This book sees people through an idealistic lens, but I’m at a point in my life where I’m having more warmth for flaws and weaknesses. I bring that perspective into my next book, Food Fight, which embraces full people more tenderly. You don’t need to be perfect to be loved by others, and, no matter what, you can always love yourself.
More from the Author
Breathe In, Cash Out
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Madeleine Henry is the author of two novels, including Breathe In, Cash Out. She has appeared on NBC, WABC, The Jenny McCarthy Show, and Inspire Living. She has been featured in the New York Post, Parade, and Observer Media. Previously, she worked at Goldman Sachs and in investment management after graduating from Yale in 2014. She shares more information about her life on @MadeleineHenryYoga and about her upcoming third novel on @FoodFightBook.
SimonandSchuster.com
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Madeleine-Henry
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ALSO BY MADELEINE HENRY
Breathe In, Cash Out
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Copyright © 2021 by Madeleine Henry
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First Atria Books hardcover edition February 2021
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Interior design by Jill Putorti
Cover design by James Iacobelli
Cover photographs by 123RF, Shutterstock, and Getty Images
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Henry, Madeleine, author.
Title: The love proof / Madeleine Henry.
Description: First Atria Books hardcover edition. | New York : Atria, 2021.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020020280 (print) | LCCN 2020020281 (ebook) | ISBN
9781982142964 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781982142988 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Love stories. | Science fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3608.E5736 L69 2021 (print) | LCC PS3608.E5736
(ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020020280
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020020281
ISBN 978-1-9821-4296-4
ISBN 978-1-9821-4298-8 (ebook)
The Love Proof Page 21
