Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. If you're a writer or an aspiring writer

or even just took like one creative writing class in high school, I imagine you've heard the

advice, write what you know, which on a service level I get. But if you think about it,

for even a second, it's kind of stupid advice.

Like, am I only supposed to write about the ins and outs of public radio?

Isn't writing supposed to be an act of exploration and wonder and all of that?

Thankfully, some of our best writers, like the one featured on today's episode, don't abide

by that advice. Emma Donahue is on the pod.

You probably recognize her best-selling book, Room, which was turned into an award-winning movie.

She's got a new book out called Haven that kind of touches on similar themes as Room,

isolation and faith, except this book is set in the year 600 on a remote island.

And she talked to NPR's Ari Shapiro about getting obsessed with writing this book

and all the necessary research it took to get it done.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Emma Dunahoo tends to write about people in a tough spot.

Her best-selling novel, Room, centered on a mother and her son in a forced imprisonment.

In her new novel, Haven, three Irish monks in the Middle Ages choose to live a life of isolation

...