Q&A with Antonia Malchik, author of A Walking Life

“We walk to find our prophets, our guides, our ancestors, but ourselves most of all, and through ourselves, we find one another.” ~ from A Walking Life

Antonia Malchik's A Walking Life cover image

When I first learned of Antonia Malchik’s new book, A Walking Life (Da Capo Press, 2019), I thought, Good timing! It’s summer, I’ve got a few hikes planned, I’ll be reminded about the health benefits of walking–physical, mental, emotional. I took my time reading, savoring even the contents page with chapter titles of Toddle, March, Stumble. What I found as I moved deeper through the pages, though, was much more than a book on the simple, almost medicinal, act of walking.

Malchik has done her work curating a rich selection of research on history, science, culture, and philosophy and has built an intricate story about humanity–our innate desire to put one foot in front of the other, the disconnect we experience when we ignore that desire, and the joy and healing when we embrace it.

I can’t rave enough about this book. In fact, I’ve been talking it up for weeks, quoting it here and there. I’m thrilled to host Antonia Malchik for an interview and am giving away a copy of her book to one lucky reader. Enter the giveaway by Tuesday, July 30th, noon, for a chance to win A Walking Life.

Now, welcome Antonia!

Christi Craig (CC): Your book, while centered around the simple act of walking, is rich in information on history, culture, philosophy and takes the reader down a winding path of discovery, insight, and new understandings. How did this book unfold for you as an author?

Antonia Malchik, author of A Walking Life

Antonia Malchik (AM): A friend once described the structure of my essays as being as like fish scales. I tend to think of them as mosaics. I love taking stories and research that seem widely disparate, and diving deep to find out what connects them. A Walking Life added an extra level of complexity for me because there is a ton of detailed scientific research about things related to walking, from how we walk, which should be almost physically impossible, to the connections between vestibular impairment in children and their hippocampus development. I had to figure out how to convey that information in ways that were factually correct but narratively interesting.

That was actually really hard. I kept going back to the scientists I’d talked with to make sure that metaphors I used to, for example, describe the process of infants learning to walk or the paleoanthropology of disability weren’t misleading in the way they explained the science.

But at the same time I didn’t want to publish what I think of as a “study dump,” which I ran into a lot while researching: briefly present an idea, then give lengthy descriptions of the study behind it and repeat that process for hundreds of pages. I think that’s the key difficulty of science writing. Humans need metaphor and story to make sense of our world, but science relies on precision. Science communication has to combine those things without either muddying the science or boring the lay reader.  

On a broader level, I spent a lot of time sifting through the articles, books, and scientific papers I’d read, trying to find the threads that connected stories and themes across the arc of the book. I didn’t know where to begin because walking is a massive subject that affects us at every level of our lives, but I had to start somewhere and trust that the story would show me where to go next.

My friend Bethany Bell, who’s a journalist for the BBC, had reported on a situation at the border of Austria and Hungary, where Syrian refugees were waiting to be allowed into Austria on their way to Germany. I remembered that she’d posted photos on Twitter, including one of the Red Cross’s pile of donated shoes and others of abandoned shoes. It kept hitting me that humans have been subjected to war and environmental devastation over and over and over, and no matter what we’ve built as individuals or societies, we’re often free to take only one action, which is to walk away. When Bethany described the situation in more detail to me over Skype, she said something similar, so that’s where I started.

My mentor Alan Weisman told me before I began writing that the number one thing I should do was to constantly question and push against whatever my biggest assumption was about the subject. My biggest assumption was “walking makes us human,” so I tried to push against that from any angle I could think of. It led me in a lot of unexpected directions. Like, I knew that disability would be a central subject in the book — that was important to me because almost no book about walking even mentions disability — but didn’t know I’d write so much about community, loneliness, and the future of digital technology.

CC: A Walking Life covers a range of topics from social capital and the importance of walkable cities and towns in creating stronger communities to the power of healing walks through a labyrinth or organizations like Warrior Expeditions founded by military vets and their Warrior Hike (to “walk off the war”). There’s so much we could discuss in this interview and so little space on this tiny blog. One section that stands out to me as the heart of this book, the power in walking, is your first time in a labyrinth. You write, “As a person who is less spiritual even than she is religious, if that’s possible, I tend to be skeptical of any spiritual or religious practice that claims to put us in touch with the divine, much less with ourselves.” What follows is an amazing moment for you. Would you share a bit of that experience here?

AM: I’m still untangling that moment! I stumbled across a labyrinth at Norwich Cathedral in England, and knew I should walk it, since I’d researched labyrinths but had never been to one. For some reason I had an urge to walk around the outside first, and as I walked I began to form a question — how do we, or I, walk in the world as vocal and visible defenders of justice, say, and cope with the fear that inevitably comes? I think about this a lot because my paternal grandparents in Russia had survived so much under Stalin without giving up their ethics and commitment to honesty. Where did their strength come from?

As I entered the labyrinth, my footsteps slowed down as if compelled, almost like I was for the first time aware of the gravitational pull of the planet dragging me back, making me pay attention. It was eerie. As I walked the labyrinth, an answer came, which was simply, “Be the light.” Not light from above, but light from below, which I’m not sure makes sense to people. It really was a powerful experience. I keep trying to recapture it as I walk around my hometown, or in the woods. I have to slow my steps down a lot to reconnect with that feeling.

CC: I love the walking resources you offer on your website, from local & national walking groups to meditative practice resources. Do you have a favorite resource you refer others to often?

AM: Through a friend, I came across the work of a walking coach and change facilitator in Holland named Donja de Groot. She has a set of walking meditation cards that I ordered from her and love using. They have different prompts for questions to carry with you as you walk, especially walking in nature. She doesn’t advertise them, but I believe still sells them if you email her. I like how versatile they are, how I can just pick one up on my way out the door and have some guidance if I’m struggling with something, or just want to be reminded to slow down. This is her website: http://dao2change.com/Home/.

CC: What are you reading these days?

AM: A clerk at our local bookstore recommended N.K. Jemisin’s science fiction. They’re some of the best things I’ve read in a long time, and led me to finally read Octavia Butler. For nonfiction, I’m just starting Jane Brox’s Silence (her book Brilliant on the history of artificial light was incredible) and am slowly working my way through Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Classics are a go-to when I need some recentering — I just reread Nikolai Gogol’s Dead Souls, which had a big impact on me when I was 20, and am about to start Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth, which I haven’t read since high school. And a local friend recently started a book club. We read Debra Magpie Earling’s Perma Red, which was just as heartbreakingly beautiful as I remember, and we’re now reading The Overstory.

CC: Favorite pair of walking shoes or accoutrement?

AM: I invested in a pair of Frye boots several years ago that I pretty much live and die in. They’re incredibly comfortable and I hope will last me the rest of my life. Good socks are the real key, especially if they’re fun. My sisters have bought me socks every year for holiday and birthday gifts for decades now, and they get increasingly silly. Which is good. Life is too short to wear boring socks.

Antonia Malchik has written essays and articles for AeonThe AtlanticOrionGOODHigh Country News, and a variety of other publications. Her first book, A Walking Life, about the past and future of walking’s role in our shared humanity, is published by Da Capo Press, a division of Hachette. She lives in northwest Montana.​ Read more about Antonia and her work on her website.


Don’t forget! Enter the book giveaway by Tuesday, July 30th (noon)
for a chance to win a copy of A Walking Life.

Q&A: Julie Zuckerman, author of The Book of Jeremiah

“Now it came to her, how to describe the country in one word: resilient. Despite wars and destruction, the people here continually moved forward, rebuilding and innovating. Resilience might also be the quality needed for a lasting marriage, the ability to sort through problems and come out stronger.” ~ from The Book of Jeremiah


In life and writing, no character lives in isolation. Every action and reaction moves us forward in one way or another, strengthening ties or breaking bonds. It is only in looking back where we may fully understand the course of our journey, the impact we have on others, the impact they have on us.

Zuckerman, cover image for The Book of Jeremiah, silhouette of man's profile nested several times.

From the title, The Book of Jeremiah (Press 53, 2019), you might assume Julie Zuckerman’s debut novel is solely the story of one man. But this novel in stories opens with “A Strong Hand and an Outstretched Arm,” as told from Jeremiah’s mother’s point of view, and sets the tone for all that follows: a journey through past and present, revealing all that makes the man.

Anna Solomon (The Little Bride) says, “These stories shimmer with tenderness and truth.” Ilana Kurshan (If All the Seas Were Ink) calls Zuckerman’s novel “a sensitive and nuanced portrayal of some of life’s most painful and private moments.” The book’s cover speaks to the power of Zuckerman’s novel: this is a multi-generational story in which everyone is connected, by blood and experience, in history and in culture, through cause and effect.

I’m honored to host Julie Zuckerman today to talk more about her novel. ENTER the book giveaway for a chance to win a copy of The Book of Jeremiah (courtesy of Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity and Press 53).


Christi Craig (CC): You have a great collection of short stories and essays published, and The Book of Jeremiah is your first longer work. What did you love most about moving from short to long, and did you find certain themes carried over into your novel?

Julie Zuckerman

Julie Zuckerman (JZ): My idea was to write each chapter as a particular moment in Jeremiah’s life, every story meant to stand on its own and contribute to the larger arc – the best of both worlds! “Each life an entire universe” is something Jeremiah contemplates in one of the chapters, when he’s thinking about soldiers who have died in America’s various wars, and that’s a bit like what I tried to do here, to capture the entire universe that is his life.

Several themes emerged as I wrote: loss and forgiveness, sorrow and hope, the search for one’s place in the world. Certain questions also recur in the various chapters: Can you ever truly know another person? I wasn’t consciously writing towards these themes and questions, but I suppose it’s natural that if you look at the course of one person’s life, there are central motifs that repeat themselves.

CC: In “A note from the Author,” you write that this book grew from the final story in the novel, “MixMaster.” From there you “worked…to unravel Jeremiah’s life.” What was the biggest challenge, or most surprising moment (or both) in uncovering this character, along with his family?

JZ: “MixMaster” takes place when Jeremiah is 82, so I was writing backwards in time, having a pretty good idea of who he was as a senior, but less clear on who he was as a young man, as a child. One of the pivotal moments in Jeremiah’s life occurs when he is 19; I won’t reveal what it is here, but it was fun writing about the youthful Jeremiah. He’s a bit of a wild child, a prankster as a youth, so it surprised me to see some of the tricks he had up his sleeve.

CC: On your website, you feature Fun Stuff, including recipes for dishes mentioned in the book, paired with quotes from the book. What a great mix of media to enhance the readers’ experience of your novel. Which is your favorite recipe to make and share?

JZ: Thanks! I had a good time making that page, and I may add more recipes as I go along.

In terms of recipes I like to make and share, it’s a three-way tie between homemade granola, chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (from the Mrs. Fields “I Love Chocolate! Cookbook” – a variation of the recipe is here), and cinnamon babka. Special shout-out to Paula Shoyer, aka The Kosher Baker, for teaching my daughter how to make babka at summer camp and then sending the kids home with recipe books. One of her other babka recipes is available here.

Here’s the homemade granola recipe, which I received from a family friend:

Zuckerman recipes, jar of granola next to a bowl full of granola with banana slices

6 cups rolled oats
2 cups whole almonds or mixed nuts
(not salted or roasted) ¾ cup hazelnuts ½ cup flax seeds ½ cup sunflower seeds ½ cup pumpkin seeds ¼ cup brown sugar 3 tsp ground allspice 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger ¾ cup olive oil 4 TBSP honey 2 cups pitted dates, chopped 1 cup dried unsweetened cranberries

Mix the first ten ingredients in a large bowl. Heat olive oil and honey in a saucepan over low heat, then pour it over the granola mixture and stir well. Spread mixture over 1-2 baking sheets, bake at 300 for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. Stir in the dried fruit and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container. Delicious with yogurt and fresh fruit, or any way you like to eat granola!

CC: What are you reading these days?

JZ: I’ve been alternating reading short story collections, particularly from small presses like Press 53 – they are all excellent! – and novels, with a few memoirs here and there. A few that I’ve read lately and would highly recommend are “Heirlooms” by Rachel Hall, “Ways to Disappear” by Idra Novey, “The Art of Leaving” by Ayelet Tsabari, “Shelf-Life of Happiness” by Virginia Pye, “They Could Live With Themselves” by Jodi Paloni, “What the Zhang Boys Knew” by Cliff Garstang, “The Parting Gift” by Evan Fallenberg and “A Good Hard Look” by Ann Napolitano.

CC: May is Short Story Month. With that in mind, along with the knowledge that your novel grew from a short story, is there a collection of stories you would recommend for readers or a short story author you love most?

JZ: In addition to the above, I’d recommend anything by Edith Pearlman (author of “Binocular Vision,” “Honeydew” and several other volumes). Is it too much to say that I’d like to be her when I grow up?

Julie Zuckerman’s fiction and nonfiction have appeared in a variety of publications, including The SFWP Quarterly, The MacGuffin, Salt Hill, Sixfold, Crab Orchard Review, Ellipsis, The Coil, and others. THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH, her debut novel-in-stories, was the runner-up in the 2018 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction Award. A native of Connecticut, she resides in Modiin, Israel, with her husband and four children. Learn more at https://www.juliezuckerman.com/.


DON’T FORGET! Enter the giveaway by noon, May 28th,
for a chance to win a copy of The Book of Jeremiah.

Q&A with Kim Suhr, author of Nothing To Lose

“Poetry has gotten them into this and poetry will have to get them out.”
~ from “Right Place, Right Time” in Nothing To Lose


In the heart of Wisconsin right now, we are covered in white. Winter continues to show up with force, shutting down the city and leaving us staring at a monochrome image broken up only by a line of trees or the red tail lights of slow-moving traffic.

You might think, The midwest–all that cold and snow! How does anyone survive? But there’s more to living in Wisconsin.

There are the people and the places and the poetry of stories. Read anything by Michael Perry: Population 485 or Visiting Tom, both great books of nonfiction about captivating characters in real life.

Or, pick up Kim Suhr’s new collection of short stories, Nothing To Lose (Cornerstone Press, 2018), which features an eclectic mix of fictional characters who hail from all over the state.

Sure, these may not be people you’d meet in the street, but as Albert Camus says, “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” So be prepared to wonder.

Suhr’s stories will ring familiar with things you know about the midwest, but they will also surprise you, keep you turning the page, and leave you considering if the bits and pieces of strange don’t ring true in one way or another.

I’m honored to host Kim Suhr and thrilled to offer a book giveaway. Click HERE to enter by Tuesday, February 19th, noon for a chance to win a copy of her new collection. Now welcome Kim Suhr!


Christi Craig (CC): In your book, you introduce us to so many different characters: a teacher turned poet looking for love, a mother desperate to save her drug-addicted son, two friends set on starting up a “Paintball for Jesus” business, and more. Where do your ideas for such diverse characters come from?

Image of Kim Suhr: woman looking at camera, wearing blue shirt and beaded necklace.

Kim Suhr (KS): Honestly, I wish I knew. On a global level, they all come from my desire to understand people who are different from me, what makes them tick, what they wish for and regret.

Some stories started with an image: A man standing in a doorway wearing night vision goggles; cross-dressing deer hunters (don’t ask); a video camera in a kid’s face. One started with an overheard conversation: “My friend decided to follow the advice on every Dove wrapper.” “Dry Spell,” about a paintball range for Jesus, came from a real advertisement I happened across. What could be the story behind that? I asked myself, and I was on my way…

CC: Your book is also filled with a wonderful mix of very different stories that constantly surprise the reader. I’m thinking in particular of the story “Brush Strokes,” which begins with the simple image of an artist painting on a canvas. Mid-way, the story—the artist—takes a dangerous turn, and there’s no way a reader will close the cover before reaching the end. As the writer, were you clear as to where each story was headed?

KS: That’s a great question and one that gives me pause. I think, subconsciously, I know what direction I want each story to take, but it isn’t until I’m in the thick of writing it that I realize where it needs to go. Everything is in service to the story. I may personally want a character to undergo a life-changing epiphany and live happily ever after—and I keep trying to write stories where that works—but often the stronger story demands something different: remaining in homeostasis, a change in vision, harsh consequences. Even my “happy” endings have room for ambiguity. Some of my darker stories, I think, have moments of humor and hope. That’s what I love about the short story form.

CC: Your book is published by Cornerstone Press, which is an independent publisher and teaching press housed at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. How was your experience working with up and coming editors, artists, and publishers?

KS: It was a true joy. You really can’t beat having a staff of over 20 people dedicated solely to your one book. The staff’s enthusiasm for the project was infectious, and they jumped into becoming “experts” very quickly—learning what they needed to know to fulfill their various roles and applying it punctually and professionally. They were as invested as I was in making this the best possible book it could be. Of course, none of this happens without the leadership of a skilled, dedicated person at the top, and that’s exactly what I found with the Publisher-in-Chief, Dr. Ross Tangedal. I would highly recommend Cornerstone Press.

CC: What are you reading these days?

KS: I just started A Gentleman in Moscow for my book club. Just finished The Stupendous Adventures of Mighty Marty Hayes (a fun novel for young readers by Milwaukee author, Lora Hyler) and a wonderful collection of short stories by Susanne Davis, The Appointed Hour, who also happened to publish with Cornerstone Press. Next on the list, The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and a Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate, by Milwaukee authors, Arno Michaelis and Pardeep Singh Kaleka.

CC: Favorite notebook for writing new stories: spiral? hardbound? Moleskin?….

KS: The good old Composition notebooks, college-ruled with a nice, glidey pen.Thank you so much for reading, Christi, and for your wonderful questions. It’s an honor to be among the many wonderful writers featured at your website!

Kim Suhr is author of the Nothing to Lose (Cornerstone Press, 2018), Maybe I’ll Learn: Snapshots of a Novice Mom (2012) and co-author of the as-told-to memoir, Ramon: An Immigrant’s Journey. She holds an MFA in fiction from the Solstice Program at Pine Manor College where she was the Dennis Lehane Fellow in 2013. Her writing has appeared in various publications. Kim is Director of Red Oak Writing where she leads Writers’ Roundtable critique groups, provides manuscript critiques  and coaching, and leads the summer Creative Writing Camps for youth. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys gardening, time outdoors with her family and being a fan-girl for her almost grown children in their various pursuits.


Don’t forget! Enter the giveaway by Tuesday, February 19th–noon sharp, for a chance to win a copy of Nothing To Lose.