Inside: The Good Women of Safe Harbour
Pulling Back the Curtain on the Creative Process with Author Bobbi French
Written by Taylor Devoe
This is a segment of Read the North where we aim to celebrate storytelling and craftsmanship from coast to coast to coast. Explore literary voices and discover how reading the North feels a little richer together.
We are taking an inside look at Canadian author Bobbi French and her novel; The Good Women of Safe Harbour.
Bobbi French was born and raised in Newfoundland and Labrador. A former psychiatrist, she is the author of Finding Me in France, a memoir chronicling the year following her decision to leave medicine in pursuit of paths not traveled. Her debut novel, The Good Women of Safe Harbour is our Book Club pick for February (and worth a read!). In addition to featuring Bobbi in our Book Club, we were lucky enough to have her join us for an interview. Our chat brought us behind-the-scenes on her creative processes and the journey she’s taken following her passion from psychiatry to literature. Read along to find out about the creative mind that weaves empathy, experience and women's stories to write books that are heartbreakingly beautiful, and wholly relatable.
“My characters were inspired by the many good women I’ve met in my life. Bright, brave, interesting, resilient but often overlooked and underestimated. So, I started with an ordinary woman doing something extraordinary.”
BTN: Your novel gracefully explores “hot-button” topics with emotional depth. How do you strike the balance between telling a powerful story and tackling complex, sometimes divisive themes?
Bobbi: I’d love to talk about how I struck such a balance and sound smarter than I am, but I had no plan to tackle specific topics. For me the story was everything, and this one happened to be about the lives of everyday women, which I think are fascinating and complex and often perilous. I always say ask any woman the right questions and she’ll give you a story worth writing down. So, the hot buttons just rose up as the narrative progressed. But “gracefully explores” makes me feel like a fancy author who knows what they’re doing, and I’m running with it.
BTN: Your characters often feel incredibly vivid and real. Can you walk us through your process for developing them — where do they begin, and how do they evolve as you write?
Bobbi: I wonder if being a retired psychiatrist is a secret weapon when it comes to character development. Lots of insight into how people think and feel and why they behave as they do, which probably leads to relatable characters. Mine were inspired by the many good women I’ve met in my life. Bright, brave, interesting, resilient but often overlooked and underestimated. So, I started with an ordinary woman doing something extraordinary, in this case making peace with a hard life and dying on her own terms, and it rolled out from there.
BTN: You’ve likely received all kinds of feedback from readers — some expected, and some not. What emotional response do you hope your readers walk away with, and are there times when the impact of your work has surprised you?
Bobbi: Mostly I hoped to spark empathy for folks who have a rough go, which I’ve heard a lot about from readers. But I wasn’t remotely prepared for such strong emotional connections to the story. I’ve done a lot of virtual book club visits, and I’m always stunned and deeply moved to hear the beautiful ways the book has spoken to people with respect to their own experiences with grief and loss, mental illness, death and dying, female friendships. Just so touching.
BTN: What is one thing most people don’t know about you — something that might surprise your readers or give them a new lens through which to view your work?
Bobbi: How surprised I am to be a published author after a long career of writing nothing but prescriptions. In my younger years, I had big plans for a life in theater. Plays, musicals, anything that happened on a stage, but my parents were horrified and convinced me that med school was a better bet. Now at 57 and living with a disability that can be quite isolating, writing helps me feel connected to the world, for which I’m very grateful. And finding my way to my first novel at this stage of life feels like fulfilling that early artistic dream. So, I tend to write with my whole heart, and maybe that comes through on the page.
BTN: What advice would you offer to an aspiring Canadian author who’s trying to find their voice in a crowded and competitive literary landscape?
Bobbi: No doubt it’s a tough gig these days but apart from reading all you can and writing about things that interest you, I think connecting with other writers is key. Find your people through social media or workshops or writing groups or whatever speaks to you. I’ve found so many wonderfully supportive people in the Can Lit community and around the world, and it really helped me get started.
BTN: Do you have any new exciting projects on the horizon?
Bobbi: Yes! My second novel, The Brink of Something Beautiful from HarperCollins Canada is coming in April. More ordinary women doing extraordinary things, but I’ll let the publisher have the last word…
If you loved The Good Women of Safe Harbour and are interested in more of Bobbi’s work keep your eyes peeled for her next novel, The Brink of Something Beautiful, available at your favourite book retailed in April of this year.
For readers of Miriam Toews and Claire Keegan, an immersive and deeply poignant new novel set on the Rock about female friendship and found family.
Ruby Nolan is a new widow. Hidden in her grief and guilt for her husband, Joe, is a sense that she is free from a marriage she never wanted. But how can she possibly begin again? An encounter with Maxine, a pregnant teen who reminds Ruby of her own sorry past, and a shocking revelation from her mother, Vera, send Ruby on a collision course with old truths and regrets and on a mission to help Maxine whether she wants it or not. While a friend warns Ruby that you can’t help anyone until you help yourself, it’s a lesson Ruby has to learn the hard way if she’s going to find any real peace.
Set over the course of one winter in 1990s St. John’s and infused with the rich culture and characters of the Rock, The Brink of Something Beautiful is the life-affirming, ultimately hopeful story about how women lift each other up and figure themselves out.
If you would like to learn more about Bobbi, or read more of her work, visit her website for more details.
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