Lisa Taddeo is at ease in the darkness. “I’m a very dark-thinking individual with a gloomy path,” the author tells. Taddeo’s father died when she was 23, and she lost her mother, aunt, uncle, and dog during the next seven years.

Three Women, which debuted at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list in 2019, explored the sexual lives of three different women, providing a candid, unapologetic look at extramarital affairs, threesomes, and the long-term repercussions of sexual abuse.

“So many people asked, ‘Why are you presenting such stories?'” They’re depressed,’” Taddeo adds. “I thought it strange — with #MeToo and everything — that we should be seeking for stories of victory rather than decimation.” Taddeo dug her heels in even further in reaction, resorting to fiction to better examine women’s complicated internal lives.

 On the significance of nonfiction reading when creating fiction

When I’m creating fiction, I read nonfiction to help me stay grounded. I tend to be a little out there, and I believe that knowing that it happened is one of the most wonderful aspects of nonfiction. Having it [as a foundation] is unmatched. It’s a lovely bit of feeling, knowing that sentences like these happened… I’m now reading Melissa Febos’s Girlhood, Diary of a Young Naturalist, and The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.

Her go-to writing beverage

Joe’s peach tea is my absolute favourite thing in the entire world. I drink a lot of these, and each bottle has about 800 calories. Snack-wise, I simply eat whatever, there’s nothing specific [I go for]. But the peach tea is my absolute favourite.

On her desk, she has the following figurines

I work at a desk midway between my bedroom and my daughter’s room since she insists on seeing me at all times. It’s like having a sharpshooter on your team. A window on the desk overlooks our backyard, which includes a little wooded area. It’s extremely soothing.

Sharpies provide order to her chaotic world

I colour code my to-do list and use Sharpies to make it. Everything about my daughter is written in pink. Work meetings are highlighted in a distinct hue. When I’m delaying, I’ll use my Sharpies to construct a new to-do list that seems even scarier than the one before it, and I’ll write everything in red.