My friend Beth Vogt joins us this week as she launches her latest novel, The Best We’ve Been. I had the privilege of reading this book for endorsement. There is so very much to love about it. The Best We’ve Been is a beautiful story of what happens when life doesn’t go as planned and how it can pull us closer together. Johanna’s world has been upended and it has ripple effects through her family. It is a beautiful story of how family can come together when the lies are replaced with truth and when the choice is made to trust and find common ground. I loved every page, couldn’t wait to return to the characters, and felt every emotion. A wonderful addition to Beth Vogt’s books.

What inspired you to write The Best We’ve Been, book three in the Thatcher Sisters

I’ve been thinking about writing Johanna’s story from the very beginning of this series, back when I knew her story wouldn’t be fleshed out until book three. I also knew that readers weren’t going to like Johanna based on how I introduced her at first—who she was, how she treated her sisters, Jillian and Payton. But Johanna had reasons why she acted the way she did, and The Best We’ve Been is when Johanna comes center stage so that we can begin to truly understand who she is.

The funny thing is initially I wasn’t eager to read Johanna’s story for that very reason. But man, you pulled me in so quickly. I really LOVED her story.
You’ve often referred to this series as “Little Women gone wrong.” Explain how your story incorporates themes that are similar to those of Alcott’s classic novel.

Little Women is a classic story that idealizes the relationships between four sisters. Just in the last few months we’ve seen yet another movie adaption of Louisa May Alcott’s novel, which was my favorite book growing up. For all their differences, the March girls are undergirded by a  sense of loving unity and, well, goodness. The Thatcher sisters? Throughout this series of novels, I weave in the kind of reality you see in the popular TV show This Is Us. The Thatcher sisters struggle to find common ground, and their differences separate them, as well as secrets and the choices they make. The question is always: will they be able to overcome their differences and love one another, choose to be there for each other?

A couple weeks ago we watched Little Women — first the 1994 version with Wynona Rider and then the brand new one. It was so fun to analyzed what we liked and didn’t love about the different interpretations. We were unanimous that Christian Bale was the better Laurie. Which of the Thatcher sisters was the most challenging to write, and why?

Johanna was the most challenging to write because readers didn’t like her at first, and I understand why. I intentionally wrote her as an unlikable character. But I had to weave enough into book one, Things I Never Told, and book two, Moments We Forget, so that readers would go with me to book three, The Best We’ve Been, and hear Johanna out, so to speak.

How do you hope reading Johanna’s story will encourage readers?

One of my friends read book one, Things I Never Told, and said she understood Johanna — that she knew there were reasons why she said and did the things she did. She offered Johanna, an imaginary character, understanding. I’m hoping as readers delve deeper into The Best We’ve Been, they’ll see that there’s always more to people than we realize.

Thanks so much for joining us, Beth. Be sure to enter her launch giveaway by clicking on the image above. And race out to buy this novel. It was such a good read with deep themes and love.