I never count on anything, and there is so much good writing that it's nice to know people are picking your book up off the shelf.'Īs her past books have, 'Sing for Home' may soon be on the big screen, as Picoult was preparing to fly cross country to meet with Ellen DeGeneris, who owns the movie rights to it. The book shot right to the top of the best-seller lists, a fairly common place for Picoult, the author of 17 best-sellers, which are anxiously anticipated by her fan base, though she said, 'Honestly, it's always a surprise. It was an issue as someone who wanted this world to be a better place by the time he's ready for a family,' she said. It wasn't a philosophical exploration any more. 'I knew he was gay before, but it really changed this book. What is considered a controversial subject here is not controversial anywhere else,' she said.Īround the time she started the book, her son Kyle, a Yale sophomore, came out.

I kind of wondered why, because if you travel enough, you realize America is very different. 'We live in a country where this really matters. Picoult said she began the book intending to write about gay rights, based primarily on her observances about the issue traveling here and abroad. Zoe, in turn, finds love with a woman, Vanessa, but when the two decide to try and have children using the embryos the former couple have left frozen in a lab, a court battle over ownership begins. Max leaves, and eventually moves in with his brother Reid and his wife, Liddy, where he is born again and joins their Eternal Glory Church.

After a decade of Zoe trying without success to have a child with her husband, Wade, their marriage unravels. Giving Zoe Baxter a literal voice also fits neatly into the narrative, as Zoe is a music therapist. She then agreed to sing the music, and we're lucky, because I don't think you deserve to hear my singing,' she laughed.Īt the book events, they vary the chapters, with Picoult doing a short reading, then introducing Wilber. 'I approached her and said I would write the poetry and basically could she put it to music. Wilber and Picoult have written more than 200 songs over the years for the children's shows they produce together in Picoult's home state of New Hampshire, where they have raised more than $150,000.

If you do, you would realize that gay people want the same things straight people do.' The people who oppose gay rights are people who usually don't have a gay friend or relative. 'It came down to me wanting Zoe having a literal voice.

Sing you home by jodi picoult