Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up. – Anne Lamott

When the first advance reader reviews for The Sunflower House came in, I was a little surprised to hear many call it a hopeful book.

I didn’t plan for this book to be a story about hope, not consciously at least. When I learned about Heinrich Himmler’s ruthless eugenics efforts to breed the so-called ‘Master Race’ in Nazi Germany, I was horrified. Allina’s personal journey takes place during one of the darkest periods in human history. There were precious few pinpoints of light to be found, so I didn’t feel at all hopeful while researching or writing it. While the details were dark, I wanted people to know the truth. I believe we need to see past mistakes clearly to avoid repeating history, so I saw this novel as one about personal choice.

Where did the hopefulness come from, then?

Very close to home, and I should have realized it sooner. Many of Allina’s character traits are based on my mother — a woman who remained stubbornly, profoundly hopeful, despite personal struggles. Raised in a humble home that was unfortunately marked by violence, widowed young, and in physical pain for most of her life, my mother never gave up hope. She always did what she could to make things better for herself and those she loved. Mom believed in the basic goodness in people. Even when others were not at their best, she treated them with fairness, according to her own principles.

So, it makes total sense that I wrote about a woman in an impossible situation, who would fight not only for herself, but for the innocent children in her care. Someone who was brave enough to keep doing the right thing despite the risk, who’d suffered and been hurt but found the grace to forgive. It doesn’t take a psychologist to work out that I based Allina, at least partly, on the strong, compassionate woman who raised me.

What would she have to say about hope today?

My mother was born in Italy during WWII and immigrated to the U.S. in the 1950s. She lived through periods of personal and global struggle, had strong opinions about politics and the state of the world — but she didn’t waste much time and energy on anger. Instead, she’d get busy and focus on what to do to improve things. “It’s not what happens to you, Ana,” she’d say, “but how you deal with it.”

Her advice when I’d hit personal low points or get angry about the state of the world typically went something like this: Make sure you know what’s happening in the world, but don’t let yourself give in to despair. Put down the cell phone. Do your own research. Then volunteer for causes you support and donate to organizations who need help.

Write about your worries. Get all the pain out in your writing. Then walk away from your computer at least once a day and outside in the sun. Plant some flowers, or a garden. Listen to music that uplifts you. Do something to connect with people. When you’re out for coffee, talk to a stranger at the next table if they look up and smile. At the grocery store, help the mother with a baby in her arms by grabbing that box on the top shelf she’s struggling to reach. Smile at the person who is checking out your groceries and thank the one who’s bagging them. Then make sure to return your shopping cart. (Yes, even a small thing like that.)

Some of these practices may sound insignificant or naive, but it’s the way she lived her life. People were drawn to her, to that basic goodness and empathy. She believed that the world is what we make it, and that every person could do one small thing to make it better. She refused to give in to defeat and despair. Now more than ever, I realize that was the source of her authentic power. It’s as true today as it ever was.

The end of this month, August, will mark two years since my mother’s passing. I’m sad she didn’t live long enough to see The Sunflower House in print. Mom was my very first beta reader, but I’m not sure she realized how much of Allina’s character was based on hers. I hope she’d be glad to know it now.

Adriana xo🌻