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balance too; the friends you can tackle
heavy experiences with, that you can
be vulnerable with, but can also share
moments where you can’t stop laughing
are the most precious friendships to me. I
wanted to include this type of friendship
in “The Summer Pact.” The characters can
take on serious issues, but they’re also a lot
of fun.
Q: The loss of Summer is the heart
of the book, and of course, her name
inspired the tide. Her presence is
felt even when she’s not there. What
inspired the character of Summer in
particular?
A: “The Summer Pact” is the first book
I’ve written with a trigger warning.
Summer, as we learn in the prologue,
dies by suicide. I know there are so many
layers to depression, and I’m not in any
way trying to oversimplify the illness. It
is an incredibly complex topic. But we
have seen that young people, particularly
college athletes like Summer, experience
this heavy pressure and toxic culture
perfectionism which can lead them to
make these very impulsive decisions.
Suicide affects some of the best and the
brightest, which I really started to delve
into in 2017 when Kate Spade took her
life and then when Anthony Bourdain
died by suicide in 2018. In the lead-up
to writing “The Summer Pact,” I started
to see suicide impact star athletes, like
the soccer goalkeeper Katie Meyer from
Stanford. There was a time when we
thought that suicide only affected those
who were visibly depressed, but it touches
people who seem to have it all. With
Summer, I thought it was important to
create a character who seemed to have it
all and whose struggles were hidden even
from those who knew her best.
Summer is an all-American distance
runner, a sport that is so mentally
challenging. It’s typically distance
runners, too, who can be hard-working
perfectionists. I mean, who else would go
out and run that kind of mileage? Having
three distance runners for children who
compete at high levels — my sons George
and Edward compete in Division 1 at
Columbia, and my daughter Harriet
is a top runner in Georgia high school
running— and witnessing the pressure they
experience influenced my focus on mental
health in distance running.
In the prologue, Tyson uses a David
Foster Wallace quote in which he likens
suicide to jumping off a burning building.
He says, “It’s not that the person doesn’t
fear falling — because he does — it’s
just that falling feels less terrible than
burning.” I think this so beautifully
attempts to explain the profound pain
that some people experience.
Q: Summer’s death is such a tragic loss.
It is a powerful reminder that you never
really know what people are carrying
on the inside, even if everything looks
perfect on the outside. What other
messages do you hope your readers will
take away from this book?
A: I never write a book with a message
in mind — it comes together as I write
it. The major takeaway didn’t come to
me until I wrote the trigger warning,
which I articulated in my final words
to my readers, especially those who are
struggling, in my acknowledgments:
“Life is tough. Life is messy. Life can be
heartbreakingly cruel. You have helped
me through some tough times, and I hope
my stories have brought you a measure of
comfort. I care about each and every one
of you and wish you endless silver linings.”
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