And Owen is based on characteristics I’ve had all my life: the inability to say the right thing at the right time, excitement at adventure (even when that excitement irritates others) and profound desire for people to get along. To be honest I still aspire to fully embody these traits. Gemma is who Past Me wanted to be: confident and comfortable in her own skin, able to speak up for herself and others, and a very sleek dresser. And in ‘Secret’ Todd gets something I hope the real Todd found one day: people to understand and support him in his struggles. I was too young and self-involved to ever find out his real story so in ‘I Know Your Secret’ I imagined my own version of his life, pulling from another part of my past: depression suffered by people in my family. But Todd not a “bad” kid- he was an insightful, whip smart, fun kid who had some struggles going on that no one chose to help him figure out. He had acted out early on, and all of these things quickly earned the him the label of a “bad” kid. Todd* came from an underprivileged family and often arrived at school messy and unkempt. I grew up in a white, working class town where my family stuck out a bit because we were middle class. Todd is based on a friend I had back in middle school. She’s also a huge animal lover like both Past and Present Me. Ally is adopted from Kazakhstan like both my children, and like them she has had to confront microaggressions about “real” family. Ally, Todd, Gemma and Owen are also born of Past Me.
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