Below is an interview with Ann Campanella, a memoirist and poet who has put her life on paper to help others who may be going through moments that she has already lived through. Learn about her history as an editor, her love of horses, and her writing pedigree. Check out Campanella’s books and links below!
About Ann Campanella
Author links (links will open in a new tab)
Book titles and links to buy:
Genres: memoir and poetry
Book summaries
Motherhood: Lost and Found
At age 33, Ann Campanella returns to North Carolina ready to build a horse farm and start a family. Ann’s foundation is shaken when she experiences multiple miscarriages at the same time her mother spirals into Alzheimer’s. As her window for motherhood begins to close and her mother’s illness progresses, Ann is plunged into an emotional journey that leads her to a deeper understanding of what it means to love.
Celiac Mom
Celiac Mom charts the course of a noncook determined to keep her young daughter safe from gluten, a substance that is literally poisoning her. The author reveals the challenges of upending a wheat-filled life in order to embrace a healthy future for her family.
What Flies Away
What Flies Away, an award-wining poetry collection, tells the story of a mother’s descent into Alzheimer’s, a father’s sudden death and the miracle of a daughter’s birth. These poems, called “astonishingly beautiful,” are written with a sense of awe that transforms even the most difficult moments into something precious.
Book excerpts
Motherhood: Lost and Found
The wind lifts my horse’s mane from his neck, causing us both to shiver. He stands like a statue as I mount. His ears are alert, catching the sound of stray leaves being stripped from trees. The sky is clear, but the sun feels farther away than usual. In another hour, darkness will fall and frigid air will sweep across the fields, the ground below the ring will begin to harden, and a layer of ice will form on the puddles left behind from last night’s rain. I urge Crimson forward, feel the lift of each hind leg as he walks.
Before going into the ring, we warm up around the outside. Crimson is lazy by nature, but with the wind behind us, he launches into a loose, flowing trot. I give him his head and he seems to float for an instant above the ground before pushing off with diagonal legs. The cold breeze stings my cheeks and my eyes water, but I wouldn’t give up this feeling for anything.
I am thirty-three years old and have been riding horses since I was nine. From the beginning I was entranced with their power, their muscled fluidity. I was a typical young girl in love with horses. But there was more—a nuance I couldn’t articulate, and still struggle to name. Call it a connection, an invisible fiber that runs between me and these four-legged creatures, as if we are one and the same. Crimson’s large brown eyes, his very skin seem to absorb every sensation and emotion that passes through me. Standing in the aisle this afternoon, brushing his coppery coat, it was as if he intuited something was different, that I was different. Could he feel the new life growing inside me?
Celiac Mom
I have never been a cook. In fact, Joel and I survived for years on a diet of microwave dinners and takeout food. Most weekends, we treated ourselves with a delicious four-inch high, wheat-bread sandwich made from our local chain whose name had the word “Bread” in it, topping off the meal with a huge chocolate chip cookie made with wheat flour. A few hours later, we’d pick up subs (with whole wheat rolls, if we were being virtuous) or visit our favorite Italian restaurant for plates of baked ziti—noodles made with what else but wheat.
Wheat was our family’s mainstay. We survived on it, planned around it, looked forward to it, even drooled over it. Gluten was a foreign concept. One of those weird words that overly health-conscious people used, people who liked to make others—like us—feel guilty.
All that would change when we learned that our daughter had celiac disease. What does it mean when someone is diagnosed with celiac? In medical terms, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation, when someone who has celiac eats gluten, an immune response is set off which damages the villi (tiny fingerlike projections) in the small intestine. When these villi are blunted, they can no longer absorb nutrients. This leads to autoimmune disorders and other health issues which can be serious such as anemia, arthritis, liver disorders, delayed growth and failure to thrive, to name a few.1
In human terms, my daughter was not being nourished.
What Flies Away
What she doesn’t know
Today, as wind pushes dried leaves
from poplars and sky turns to steel,
I say to my mother, Let’s go for a ride.
We drive a hundred miles, chatting about birds
and insects and other things that fly away, until
the hospital rises like a castle before us.
We walk the corridor, she grips my palm.
Rivers of veins rush through her hand.
Our heels make hollow sounds in the hall.
She is afraid of the doctor
whose eyebrows arch like black claws.
On the ward, she jokes with the nurses.
This looks like a place for crazies.
Her mouth draws a jagged line across her face.
Orderlies run hands through her suitcase,
empty her purse. They lock up her credit cards,
leather belt, silver nail file. She sits like a child
waiting for instruction, her eyes soft as petals.
I hug her shoulders, kiss the crease of her cheek.
You’re not leaving me here! and her face folds.
She doesn’t know that yesterday she walked out
in the rain to find her father who died
long ago, that lightning fractured the sky
and she ran for the woods, slapped my hands
when I tried to lead her inside, cried
when I closed the door, that I slept beside her
last night, my hand on her back. As she drifted off,
my body curled leaflike around her trunk.
Review excerpts
Reviews for Motherhood: Lost and Found:
“A chronicle of family tragedy and triumph told in some of the most truly lyrical writing you’ll ever encounter.” – Judith Minthorn Stacy, winner of the Carolina Novel Award
“[This book] has much to teach us all as human beings.”– Anthony (Tony) Abbott, Professor Emeritus at Davidson College, winner of the Novello Festival Press Book Award
Reviews for Celiac Mom:
“This is one of the most readable books ever.” – Amazon Reviewer
“In a time when gluten-free has become a trendy diet choice and marketing ploy, Ann Campanella shares the “real” story of celiac and its effects on the patient and the family.” – Amazon Reviewer
“I can’t recommend this book highly enough!” – Amazon Reviewer
Reviews for What Flies Away:
These poems “…are essentially elegies written in advance. They are clear-sighted and unsentimental; at the same time, they are full of sentiment. I look forward to more of Ann Campanella’s work.” – Maxine Kumin, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry
“My heart broke, broke more, then was transfixed by joy as I read this magnificent book of poetry….” – Amazon Reviewer
Talking Shop
What do you want readers to take away from your books?
I would love for readers to have the sense that they are not alone as they face challenges in this life. My hope is that through the beauty of language, readers will connect to the heartbeat of the human spirit which we all share.
What’s the best review/compliment that you’ve received about your book?
When someone wrote these words about my first memoir: “It was the gift of a lifetime. Nothing I have ever read has affected me more deeply or made me more thankful that I am alive.”
What famous books can you compare to your own?
I’d like to think that Motherhood: Lost and Found could be compared to a combination of the memoirs Still Alice by Lisa Genova and Inheritance by Dani Shapiro.
I might compare Celiac Mom to The Elephant in the Room by Tommy Tomlinson.
Some have said my poetry reminds them of Mary Oliver’s work, and I would be honored to have What Flies Away be compared to House of Light.
What is a fun or strange source of inspiration that ended up in your book?
My horses were always surprising sources of inspiration in my writing. Sometimes it was something one of them did or just the peace that I felt watching them grazing in the field.
How long did it take to write your book from the day you got the idea to write it to the day you published it?
Believe it or not, it took me 20 years to finish writing Motherhood: Lost and Found. Part of the reason was because I was in the midst of caregiving both my mother and daughter while I was writing the story.
I thought about writing Celiac Mom many years before I actually sat down at the computer and started working on it. But once I did, it took me about three years to write and edit the memoir.
How long have you considered yourself a writer? Did you have any formal training, or is it something you learned as you went?
Writing has been a part of me throughout my life. My great great grandfather was a famous writer and historian, so I guess the love of words was passed down genetically. I remember writing a poem in first grade.
I earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and, for years I took as many writing classes as I could. I was also a newspaper and magazine editor for several years before I began writing my memoirs.
If you don’t make a living exclusively writing, what is your day job? How, in any way, does it relate to your life as a writer?
For a long time, I was a magazine and newspaper editor. I learned a lot through these positions — how to write quickly, how to pull the most important information from a press release, how to interview people, how to organize my work and my writing life, how to buff up a story to make it shine, how to present the most interesting material in an easily readable format, how to write accurately and catch typos and other errors and so much more.
In addition, I took care of horses and taught horseback riding lessons. Horses grounded me as I experienced several losses in my life, and these magnificent animals found their way into my writing whether as a central metaphor, an important strand of a book or a side story.
Who is on your Mt. Rushmore of great writers?
Joyce Carol Oates, Jane Smiley, Mary Oliver and Anne Lamott
What is your most stereotypical writer trait? Your least stereotypical?
My most stereotypical writer trait is that I’m an introvert. I love to be home, spending time with my animals, taking long walks, journaling, sitting in front of a fire and sipping warm beverages.
My least stereotypical writer trait is that I’m quite good at math. Sometimes I think I inherited my father’s engineering brain, which actually helps me in the construction of my stories, books and writing.
“What If” Scenarios
If you could have one person that you admire, living or dead, read your book, who would it be?
I would probably have to choose my mom. My mother was also a writer and she was the biggest fan of my writing when I was growing up. Even though she was alive during the time I wrote both of my memoirs, she had Alzheimer’s disease for over a decade. So, by the time the books were done, she was not capable of reading them.
If you could be in a writer’s group with up to four famous writers, who would they be?
Anne Lamott, Dani Shapiro, Maxine Kumin and Jane Smiley
A wealthy reader buys 100 copies of your book and tells you to hand them out to anyone you wish. Who do you give them to?
I would give 100 copies of Motherhood: Lost and Found to AlzAuthors.com, a nonprofit organization that I’m a part of that shares books about dementia to light the way for others.
And I would give 100 copies of Celiac Mom to a local celiac organization to help support those who have just been diagnosed with celiac disease.
Would you rather own your own bookstore or your own publishing house, and what would you sell or publish?
I am an editor by trade, so I could see myself owning a publishing house. I have helped a few writers prepare their books for publication, so having a publishing house feels like a natural step to me.
You have final say over who reads the audio book version of your story. Who do you choose?
This may sound strange, but I would read it myself. I had the opportunity to do the audio version for Motherhood: Lost and Found, and it was an amazing experience. I felt like I understood the words on a whole new level and it was a gift to speak them out loud. I also knew the intended meaning behind what was written, so it was easy to emphasize words and phrases in ways that were important.
Just for Fun
One bucket list item you’ve completed and one that’s still on your list.
I flew to Australia and traveled around the country for six months after graduating college. I said I’d go back when I was 40, but I haven’t made it yet.
Food you’d like to win a lifetime supply of.
Gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb baked goods
Your favorite podcast.
Charlotte Readers Podcast
A book that you recommend everyone reads.
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
The topic you can’t shut up about and the topic you wish everyone would shut up about.
I can’t shut up about living a gluten-free lifestyle, and I wish everyone would stop talking about politics.
A talent you have and a talent you wish you had.
My talent is horseback riding and training.
I wish I could sing.
When time travel is achieved, do you go forward or backward?
I’d enjoy going back to the horse and buggy days.
Buy it!
Buy a copy of Celiac Mom here, and help support local bookstores! This is an affiliate link, and I will earn a commission on any sales.
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A great interview! I love Anne’s words of”…readers will connect to the heartbeat of the human spirit which we all share.” She has DEFINITELY done that with her words because they also come from her heart.
Definitely. She has a really personal connection to her subject which gives her the expertise to write about it. Thanks for commenting!