Lindsey Averill - A Mature, Provocative and Starkly Memorable Narrative

Posted on 25th of August, 2020 by Naomi Bolton

Growing up in both conservative, Greenwich, CT and whimsical, Santa Fe, NM, Lindsey is the daughter of a gypsy Queen and a gynecologist. Her childhood was filled with rainbows and cotton candy and she believes that if all children had parents like hers then world peace would be right around the corner. A woman of many hearts, Lindsey is a filmmaker, an academic, a writer, an activist, a novelist, a sake and sushi lover, a notorious trashy television watcher, an odd beauty secret keeper, an amazing dancer... really, the list is endless. She's is married to a dreamer who calls her pumpkinpoop and makes her feel like burping hearts, and she has a son who she fondly calls potato. In her spare time, Lindsey writes stuff for lots of cool media outlets, like CNN, xojane, Time.com, The Huffington Post, Alternet, Refinery29, and Bustle. As our Author of the Day, she tells us all about her book, Celebrating Naked.

Please give us a short introduction to what Celebrating Naked is about.

Life. Love. Loss. The best kinds of weirdos. Celebrating Naked is a story about how we define family and how we deal with grief. The family in the book is made up of a couple, the Gordons, who take in their best friend, Sissy, when she finds out that she is pregnant and newly widowed. Together the three adults raise their three children and are a family, blood or no blood. The Gordons marriage is intensely impacted by their friend. They learn to manage life as three not two. Then, when Sissy’s son is eighteen years old, she passes. The story looks at how grief affects the dynamics of this unusual family. There are secrets, growing pains, marriage aches, love affairs. It’s a beautiful mess.

What inspired you to write this story?

I come from the best kind of weirdos. Celebrating Naked is not about my family, but like all writers, my life experiences allow me to speak to these ideas. I have a wonderful family. I was born into the best kind of people and they love, not just based on blood. I have family members who are not genetically related to me and they matter so much. I also saw and felt grief at a young age and I guess it affected me.

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You are also a filmmaker, an academic and an activist. How does this influence your writing?

Honestly, I wrote this book before my activist work. The novel was signed by a top NY agent and then never went to contract. I cried into my soup and then I moved on. I got a PhD. I made a movie and this project sat in my closet gathering dust. One day I was like, hell no. I’m putting this baby into the world. I think my academic and activist work gave me the chutzpah to publish my novel myself.

Why did you use a deathbed promise as a catalyst for your story?

Beats me. Just pantsed it.

The story is told from six perspectives. Why did you take this approach?

I started with Clara, but she was a girl, and then I wrote Sissy but she died. So, I wrote Elizabeth but Cliff had things to say. And Micheal was so different from the rest. At some point Artie had things to say too, ya know. It was the kind of book that begged for all their voices - so I relented. Sometimes, the characters win.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I bake good cookies. I can draw. I make great PlayDoh figurines for my three year old son.

Is there an underlying message you wish to relay about basic human nature through your characters?

I feel like we shy away from the ugly. That when the going gets tough we tend to look away from the people we love and that only makes things worse. Dive into the ugly, swim in it. When someone dies, cling to the ones you love, don’t retreat. You need each other - communicate - that’s how you keep love and memories alive.

Do any of your characters take off on their own tangent and refuse to do what you had planned for them?

Oh god, yes. I even get angry at them. When I was writing this book and Cliff did a thing - UGH. I was so mad at him. I literally couldn’t write for a week. But in the end, I know that was the natural progression of the character and the story. To be clear, I know my characters are not actually alive.I am the boss and can make them act otherwise, but sometimes you just don’t see where you're headed until you get there and it blindsides you.

Why did you title this book Celebrating Naked?

If you read the book, you’ll know. It’s a metaphor to celebrate the raw, the natural, the brutal, the struggle, life. But it’s also from scenes in the book.

Do you have any interesting writing habits, what is an average writing day like for you?

I have a toddler. I write one sentence at a time - whenever I can. A lot gets done at 2am.

What are you working on right now?

A romance - about the son of a conservative senator and a girl who grew up on a hippie commune. It’s a little trashy and a lot delicious. It’s funny too.