Do you wonder what it’s like to write, finish, and publish a book? Today, we have an interview with author S. M. Kelly, who just released the hilarious and thought-provoking memoir, Here’s Your Pill, Kitten! She’s telling us what the writing process was really like and sharing some tips for anyone who wants to write a memoir.
I worked alongside S. M. Kelly for a short while and she is, hands-down, one of the kindest people I’ve had the honor of working with.
And here’s the official bio:
She’s a New York-based writer, ghostwriter, and editor from Tokyo via Los Angeles with 20 years’ experience writing more than 3,500 articles for numerous industries, including entertainment, finance, beauty, education, advertising, lifestyle, parenting, food and cooking, and travel/hospitality. Her freelance clients include Google, L’Oréal Paris, Paramount Studios, Marvel Comics, Warner Bros., TheWeek.com, Prevention.com, LendingUSA.com, and Mamapedia.com.
Kelly lives in New York with her husband, Mike, and their rescue bulldog, Sherman.
Here’s Your Pill, Kitten! is a biting, bittersweet, uproarious recovery adventure that reveals truths about nursing homes and the opioid crisis. It’s Kelly’s first non-ghostwritten book. And it is hilarious. Here’s how she made her memoir a reality…
An interview with S. M. Kelly
Author S. M. Kelly of new book, Here’s Your Pill, Kitten!
Tell us about the idea for your book. Where did it come from?
In September 2018, my husband and I were in Manhattan, and in a freak accident, I broke my femur…the largest bone in the human body.
I was in hospital following surgery for about 10 days, then transferred to the first of two nursing facilities for 90-day rehab. I was working a full-time job from my hospital bed, but once each work day ended, I was left to solely focus on my pain, immobility, anger, frustration, and deep sadness at being separated from my family and my home.
My only outlet was writing, and I didn’t initially think I’d write a full-length book, maybe just some blog entries. I usually only write books for clients and never myself, but the accident compelled me to shift gears and write this book.
How did you decide this book idea was worth pursuing?
I’m an avid reader, but I’ve never come across a book about the topic of nursing homes/nursing home patients that wasn’t just a hate-fest and written gripe session. Every story has two sides!
As a full-time freelance writer, my eyes and ears are always open, and the things I overheard and witnessed on both sides of the privacy curtain in these facilities were shocking and certainly eye-opening. Not all nurses are Nurse Ratcheds, in fact, 99% of the ones that cared for me were selfless and beyond amazing. Conversely, not all patients are innocent victims, some can be manipulative, mean, hostile, insane, and even physically violent.
My story really doesn’t matter, in the end. It’s merely a vehicle to encourage readers to learn about nursing homes and the broken healthcare system in the United States, to understand the opioid crisis, and to be patient/self-advocates so they/loved ones who end up in these facilities can thrive as best as possible.
The book website provides an ongoing list of resource links that readers can access and do their due diligence. Placing a loved one in a nursing facility is definitely not a guarantee of ongoing, top-notch care.
Here in the United States, many, many facilities are backed by corporations and big pharma who care only about the bottom line. As a result, healthcare workers and patients suffer.
In this time of a worldwide pandemic, look at how many frontline workers put their lives on the line every day without the basic tools they need to protect themselves and others? Look how many hospitals are forced to turn patients away?
What was the hardest thing about writing this book?
Having to relive the accident and its aftermath. It’s hard enough to recover at home and be wheelchair bound for an additional three months after the 90 days while I learned to walk again, but then diving back into those days of hospitalization added to the difficulty of everyday life as I learned to live as a mobility challenged human being.
In the end though, it was an entirely cathartic experience that I needed to get out of my system. Now, I can look back on the whole ordeal with a wicked cackle that I even survived it. I’m not sorry it happened.
What was the best thing about writing this book?
The overwhelming response to my work has been one of gratitude as well as “I laughed, I cried, I got angry!” One recent acquaintance declared she was buying the book for all her friends and family. My readers have noted that while the book is darkly humorous and entertaining, it’s also a wakeup call because I bring up topics they never even gave a second thought to. These topics are deep. They could mean the difference between life and death. I lucked out. Many others are not so fortunate.
What advice do you have for anyone else who wants to write a memoir?
Sadly, no one cares about memoirs. Big Five publishing houses don’t care about memoirs unless they’re by A-List celebrities or sports figures. My best advice centers around the memoir message: Everyone in this world has a sob story: Look at the contestants on American reality shows! “What would you do if you won this $10,000 cooking contest?” “Well, my parents got divorced when I was 10…” or “I lost my job after I bought my first house…” Right?
Therefore, to make your memoir stand out from the crowd, the story has to be meaningful. If you’re going to write about surviving alcoholism, give readers a takeaway. Refer them to support groups or form one yourself that readers can interact with. Do Ted Talks or arrange Zoom meetings for people interested in whatever support/brainstorming you can offer. Create Udemy/online training courses. Become an activist. Start a movement.
The most important factor about a memoir is to find the zeitgeist and tap into it. Give back to humanity and don’t just make the story all about you; make it relatable to as many people as possible. We are all human. We all have similar experiences, and yet there are some who are isolated and marginalized.
If your book can inspire others and raise them up, that’s success. Don’t write to become monetarily wealthy. Write what’s true to you.
Is there anything else you want memoir writers to know?
Memoir writing is not a glamorous endeavor. A full-length memoir usually runs 250 pages and can take a year or more to write, regardless of the client…meaning, your own memoir can take that long or if you ghostwrite a client’s memoir it can take that long, if not longer.
The writing is gut-wrenching and all consuming. There are times when I wanted to burn everything I wrote! I’m glad I didn’t.
If you don’t have enough material for a book, still work to get your story out there, whether it’s in short story form, a blog series, a podcast or even spoken word, as spoken word artist Brandon Leake does so eloquently.
Where can we find out more about your book?
It’s available in Kindle and paperback on Amazon.
Readers can also visit smkwriter.com to learn more about me, and heresyourpillkitten.com to access the ongoing list of resource articles, data, and studies about the healthcare and opioid crises as well as patient advocacy and legislation surrounding these topics.
Thank you, S. M. Kelly!
A massive thank you to S. M. Kelly for sharing about your new book, Here’s Your Pill, Kitten! I highly recommend it. And I find you so inspiring!
Thanks,
Liz "I’m Inspired" Green
Book Coach, Green Goose Writing
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