Meg Medina's picture books, young reader, and young adult books have won her many awards,

including the prestigious Newberry medal, and landed her on the New York Times bestsellers list. The title of her newest book, Merci Suarez Can't Dance, kinda tells you everything you need to know about who Meg is writing for. But here's the thing. She didn't start writing professionally until she was 40, because as she says, she wasn't courageous enough. We talk about how she got brave and went for it, the trauma of her own formative years,

and her advice for other creatives.

Meg, thank you so much for doing this.

I think about Mercy Suarez and this idea of being 11 and having a year where everything changes. And I think we all had that

year, whether it happened at 10, 11, 12. For you, was there a year where everything changed?

Yes. And so when I think of middle school or what was then called junior high school, I think I had a really sharp

turned south, actually. In elementary school, I'd been a pretty happy kid. I went to my

local elementary school. I was in the Glee Club and what my mother called La Houguerrecault.

I did all the things, right?

I did all the things.

But when it was time for junior high school, of course, the world got bigger.

And my mother moved us to an apartment closer to downtown flushing

into a different school district.

And suddenly I was in a big school with a lot of kids who I didn't know of a lot

who were rougher than I was. And I just shut down completely, as I recall. My uncle died,

my mother's brother died at that time as well. So there was just a lot of trauma and on top of

just the crush of growing up.

I think as adults sometimes we think back with affection for being a kid and growing up.

Oh, it's the best time you have your life.

It's so fun.

And we remember slightly like the hurts that go on in growing up.

...