Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Barth Isler.
Hi Emily, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I have always been obsessed with stories. My father and my grandfather were both journalists, and I knew I had to be some kind of storyteller. I started acting professionally in musical theater when I was five years old and spent most of my childhood in at least two or three plays or musicals at any given time! I loved being on stage in an ensemble. I went to college (Wesleyan University) and studied Film and TV, planning to go into writing then, but got swept back into the acting world for a few years– moving to New York to appear on soap operas (I had a small, recurring role on One Life to Live and guest-starred on Days of our Lives in LA briefly!) and other TV shows like Saturday Night Live. It was hard and fun and fascinating, but my true love of writing was always calling to me. In my late 20s, I decided it was time to really take writing seriously. I worked on the writing staff of a web series with Emmy-Award-winning PhoebeTV and also started writing novels for teens and tweens.
My first book, AfterMath, was published in September 2021. It’s a middle grade book for tweens and their parents about what happens years after the TV crews and media disappear following a school shooting. I wanted to explore questions like, “How do the survivors find their way back to some kind of “normal” life, with crushes and sports and math tests?” And what is it like to enter this world as a new kid in town, with a big secret of your own? AfterMath explores the grief and resilience left behind after the traumatic incidents we only see on the news. It’s about kids finding hope and friendship despite tragedy and learning that, while grief is infinite, love and friendship are, too.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road to publishing AfterMath was very long and challenging! It was important to me to write about the topic of gun violence and to write about it for kids who are middle school-aged, but the publishing industry was resistant to this for a long time. I’ve been an activist for gun safety for years– in fact, my grandfather, Alan Barth, was an editorial writer for the Washington Post and wrote literally thousands of editorials about the need for common sense gun legislation during his career there– so this issue is one I’ve been passionate about my whole life. I’ve always felt that, in order to see real change, in addition to legislation, we need to reach hearts and minds and talk about gun violence. That includes talking about it with kids! But it’s hard to know how to start these conversations in age-appropriate ways. I did a lot of research– talked to pediatricians, psychologists, activists, experts, educators, etc.– and wrote AfterMath in the hopes that it would be a conversation starter for kids and their families or educators to read together.
A lot of publishers were hesitant to take on such a scary, divisive, dark topic, and I get it. I got a few offers on the book that were contingent on my changing the school shooting in the past of the story to a different traumatic incident, like a bus accident or a hurricane, but I felt really strongly about holding out for a publisher and editor who understood how important the topic is, not only to me but to the world. And I luckily found that in my publisher, Lerner Books, and my editor, Amy Fitzgerald.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a writer in two different fields.
I write books for kids — my debut novel, AfterMath, came out in September 2021 from Carolrhoda/Lerner Books.
AfterMath is the story of 12-year-old Lucy, who moves to a new town following the death of her younger brother, Theo, from a congenital heart condition. The town where she and her parents move to suffered a very different tragedy– a school shooting– four years earlier, and Lucy is starting seventh grade with classmates who all survived the shooting. It’s hard to be the new kid at any school, but Lucy struggles with how to fit into this community and decides to keep her own recent loss a secret. Through an incredible math teacher, a mysterious new friend, and an after school mime class, Lucy learns hope, resilience, and that, while grief can feel infinite, love and friendship can be, too.
I also write for magazines, blogs, and websites about sustainable and ethically sourced beauty and skincare products!
I have been writing for outlets such as Allure.com, Popsugar, Organic Spa Magazine, This Organic Girl, and many others since 2010. As a freelancer in this field, I get to pick and choose the indie brands I write about, and like to focus on small-batch, handmade, and/or family-owned companies who are sourcing ingredients in ways that are beneficial to the earth, to their employees, and to the consumers’ health. I love to shine a light on women-owned and LGBTQ-created brands whenever possible and adore researching ingredients. I look for products made as thoughtfully and minimally as possible, with maximum efficacy. I used to call this field “green beauty” or “clean beauty,” but in the past few years, my focus has shifted away from fear-mongering about “toxins” or “chemicals” and into lifting up the brands and companies who are leading the way to create the most powerful, effective products while also benefiting the environment and the lives of everyone who works to make the product, and those who use it. Sustainable Beauty might be a better term for this industry, but I’m not just referring to sustainable ingredients. A product must be affordable to be sustainable. It must be crafted in a way that ensures a fair wage for everyone who works to make it. It must be in packaging that isn’t harmful to the planet. And it must contribute to the health and goals of the person who eventually uses it. Sustainability is the next big thing, and it urgently needs to be!!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I wrote AfterMath because I love writing books for middle-school aged kids about things going on in the world. I think kids that age really want to talk about hard things but don’t always know the best way to start doing so, and oftentimes, parents and educators are at a loss to begin, too! I wanted AfterMath to be a conversation starter between kids and their families and teachers. And it truly has been and is just getting started!
But the topic of gun violence within the story– though not portrayed graphically or in detail– is an issue that is very important to me. My grandfather was a gun control activist in the 1960s and 70s through his writing for the Washington Post, and it has always been really important to me to carry on this work. Gun violence has become a more frequent and pervasive problem in America, unlike in other developed, wealthy countries, and I’m proud to try and assist the organizations out there doing amazing work to change that.
I’m donating some of my proceeds from AfterMath to a few different gun violence prevention organizations I admire and hope that readers will feel inspired to get involved somehow with the movement to end gun violence and create common-sense gun laws.
Here are a few orgs I love:
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America https://momsdemandaction.org/
Everytown for Gun Safety https://www.everytown.org/
The Ana Grace Project https://anagraceproject.org/
Survivors Empowered https://www.survivorsempowered.org/
Sandy Hook Promise https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/
Pricing:
- AfterMath hardcover $17.99 https://bookshop.org/books/aftermath-9781541599116/9781541599116
- AfterMath audiobook (read by me, the author!) $6.99 https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/AfterMath?id=AQAAAEA85zenGM&hl=en_US&gl=US
- AfterMath e-book $8.50
- emilybarthisler.com/aftermath for links to buy
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: emilybarthisler.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilybarthisler/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmilyBarthIsler
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6nynLBpGMA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUlYcRT0qtE
Image Credits
Shirin Tinati Beja Grinage
