Sponsor Interview: Leslie Ferguson

1) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and what has your path looked like to get here?

I’ve always loved writing, and after I started my teaching career, I knew I wanted to write. I went to grad school at Chapman University and earned my MA in English literature and my MFA in creative writing. In 2005, I started writing my memoir, and just fifteen short years later (haha!), I finished it and published with Acorn Publishing. It’s been a very rewarding experience—and a healing one too.

2) What sparked the idea for this particular book?

I started out writing poetry about my childhood memories. It was a way to begin understanding and reconciling my painful and confusing experiences. Once I started writing prose, I remained distant from my story without realizing it. I was protecting myself from revisiting old wounds and reliving the trauma. But writing a first-person memoir built out of scenes and thematic meaning helped me get closer to my own lived experience and connect to truth. This finally led me to rediscover the joyous aspects of my past and bring balance to the story I wanted to share with readers. I was lucky to get to a place where I could forgive people (and myself) and view my life through a lens of beauty and compassion.

3) If you could go back and tell yourself one thing at the beginning of this journey, what would it be?

Write more. Write more often. Don’t wait. Ok, technically that’s three things, but they’re all part of the same message!

4) Where can readers connect with you? (This is a good place to share website, socials, a book ordering link, and any upcoming events!)

Please connect with me!