Q&A: Winnie M. Li, Author of ‘What We Left Unsaid’

We chat with author Winnie M. Li about What We Left Unsaid, which follows an unexpected road trip where three estranged siblings uncover a startling family secret and larger truths about being Asian American in a post-COVID world.

Hi, Winnie! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Sure, I’m an author, activist, and assistant professor of creative writing. I’ve lived most of my adult life outside the US, in countries like Ireland, Qatar, Singapore, and the UK – largely because I love travel. In the past, I’ve written for travel guidebooks and produced films, but these days, I mainly focus on writing fiction and teaching creative writing.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

Probably around the age of six? In first grade, I wrote this story about a leprechaun named Shamrock Greenman for St. Patrick’s Day. It was probably terrible, but I remember the sheer joy of just spinning a story out of thin air. I then went on to think up a whole series of stories about that character exploring different worlds, but (thankfully) never wrote them down.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Uh, a children’s picture book about babies and childbirth…? I was about kindergarten age, and yeah, that stuff leaves an impact. But then, probably One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
• The one that made you want to become an author: There were so many books I loved as a child: Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Westing Game, the Prydain Chronicles, The Witch of Blackbird Pond. All of these excited me so much about the possibilities for different stories that could be told.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I still have no idea how he was able to create six entirely different worlds, write in six very different styles and genres, and nail every single one of them.

Your latest novel, What We Left Unsaid, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Multi-layered, unpredictable, thoughtful, adventurous, poignant.

What can readers expect?

It’s a road trip story following three estranged Asian-American siblings who reunite to drive Route 66, at the request of their ailing mother in California. Their journey takes them through a divided America. Along the way, they uncover a long-buried family secret, and learn more about themselves and their own country than they expected.

Where did the inspiration for What We Left Unsaid come from?

I wanted to write a Great American Road Trip story – to be honest, probably to give myself an excuse to  drive Route 66 myself!  But I also wanted to explore sibling relationships in adulthood and  imagine what would happen if three siblings, who had drifted really far apart, were thrown together on a weeklong road trip together.  Would they revert to their childhood dynamics?  Would they get over their petty jealousies? Would they arrive at a deeper understanding of each other?

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

There’s a ‘big swing’ that I take towards the end of the novel, which readers probably don’t see coming. On one hand, I wanted to show that random, unexpected things really can happen when you travel, and you have to be resourceful to deal with them. That scene also serves as the pay-off for three different character arcs and the dramatic highpoint of the journey . But it was also fun to write. I wanted to write a car chase.  So I did!

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

Beyond the research trip itself, the challenge was probably more on the practical side: how to write a novel when I had a toddler, and at times, limited childcare. I learned to work in intense 1-hour chunks to get most of my drafting and re-drafting done.  But to finish off a big re-draft, I would still need to escape somewhere on my own for 48 hours, just to have the complete headspace necessary to envision the novel as a whole.

What’s next for you?

I’ve recently started a position as Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham in England, so I’m looking forward to settling into that role. For my next novel, I’ve been partly inspired by witnessing the deep fascination that some of my students have for the SFF (Science Fiction and Fantasy) genres. While I won’t be writing in those genres, I may be writing about the SFF fandom… In the meantime, I’ve also finished the feature film screenplay adaptation of my debut Dark Chapter, so we’ll see what happens there!

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

These are older titles, but novels I enjoyed recently are The Blue Tango by Eoin McNamee (a poignantly observed account of a historic murder in Northern Ireland) and Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda (an inventive, literary take on vampirism, immigration, and art). Non-fiction books I liked were Docile: Memoir of a Not-So-Perfect Asian Girl by Hyeseung Song and the deservedly famous Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I’m looking forward to reading Ecstasy by Ivy Pochoda, Audition by Katie Kitamura, and The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine.

Will you be picking up What We Left Unsaid? Tell us in the comments below!