The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

I enjoyed it, and I realized I was pretty good at it. It was an absolutely terrible moment to seek a permanent job, so out of necessity, I started doing some freelance writing - brochures and press releases and articles for college alumni magazines, that sort of thing. Then, about ten years ago, when I was pregnant with my second child, I was laid off from a job in health care. I never took a writing class, or even a college-level English course. I assumed writers were somehow born - the way kings and queens are, or like the wizards in Harry Potter. Although I invented plenty of stories when I was a young kid, I never, ever considered myself a writer. I’m a late bloomer when it comes to writing. How old were you when you started writing? All three have a wonderful mix of adventure, human relationships, and - best of all - a secret world, known only to children. My favorite chapter books were Harriet the Spy, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. I think the picture book I loved most was Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig it made me terribly sad and lonely, but it ended with so much joy and love. But when I found a book I loved, I read it over and over. I was easily bored and distracted, so I often found my mind wandering before I finished even a single page. What was your favorite book when you were growing up? Then one day, I realized that I could stitch them together. Independently, both projects were on track to be failures. But the novel wasn’t working either - it had no plot, no heart, just a couple of characters who shared some moments. Separately, I had an idea for a novel about a middle school girl and her older brother. But I couldn’t seem to capture the sense of wonder I felt when I learned about them. Originally, I thought I was writing traditional nonfiction. I thought, “Maybe it’s up to me to write it.” Despite these things, there weren’t (at the time) any in-depth books about jellyfish, which seemed crazy. And meanwhile, their numbers are rising in frightening ways as a result of climate change and other planetary changes. Jellyfish have an incredibly long history on earth.

The more I learned, the more I wanted to know. I wanted to learn more, so when I went home, I started reading whatever articles I could find about jellyfish. I thought the jellyfish were so beautiful and mesmerizing, and also so alien - it was almost hard to believe that those creatures occupied the same planet as I did. We’d wandered into their Jellies exhibit, almost by accident. I’d taken my kids to the New England Aquarium one day, mostly as something to keep us occupied. The biggest inspiration for this book was my own fascination with jellyfish. Where did you get your idea for this book?

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin