I’ve written before about how Alice Bliss the novel grew out of Alice Unwrapped, the musical. But an early reader of an advanced review copy just asked me: “What triggered writing Alice Bliss?” and I found, in answering her question, there’s more to the story.
Some of what triggered writing this book is my outrage that we can be at war for 8 years and yet live our lives as though we are not at war, ignoring the costs and the sacrifices. 
So many of us are not directly involved in the war; without a draft the majority of the population can remain untouched. Nor are we collectively involved in sharing the costs of the war through higher taxes or rationing or Victory Gardens or paper drives. Is this the height of decadence to be at war and have our lives unchanged?
And then I am always thinking of women and children, who are so often voiceless, and wanting to give voice to their stories.
I also think we have a collective need to grieve this war — and no way and nowhere to do it. Alice allows us to enter these unexplored feelings/ places inside us because we are disarmed by her, thinking this is “just” a coming of age story. The impact of the war sneaks up on us and becomes devastatingly real.
