An Interview With Lucinda Berry, Author Of One In Four

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Lucinda Berry is a former psychologist and author behind One in Four, a reality TV-styled mystery brimming with shocks and explorations into recovery, rehabilitation, and the fragility of relationships. Following the release of One in Four, What We Reading sat down with Lucinda to talk through everything from her love for Gone Girl, the representation of mental health in literature, and how Lisa Jewell has become a fan of her work!

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Thanks for speaking with us, Lucinda! First off, tell us a bit about yourself and what led you to the world of writing.

I’m a former psychologist specializing in trauma, but I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil. I’ve always written stories and books since I was a little girl, but I didn’t actually start publishing them or sharing them with the world until I was in my thirties. 

Talk to us about One in Four. What is it about, and what was the process of writing it like?

One in Four is about a reality TV show that focuses on former child celebrities living in a house together and trying to get sober. Their experience is streamed 24/7. Think Big Brother vibes.

One of the patients dies while on camera, and everyone in the house becomes a suspect, including the therapist. That’s pretty much all I can say without giving anything else away. 

What is the number one goal you want your work to have with readers?

I want them to feel emotions. To think about things in ways they might not have considered previously. Question their morals. I also like to shock them😊

What do you think makes you stand out as an author?

My background as a psychologist, specifically one that specializes in trauma. The same things that made me a good psychologist also make me a good writer (i.e., the ability to get inside someone else’s head and experience, the ability to suspend my own beliefs and thoughts to understand someone else, the ability to make and form hypotheses about a person’s situation, etc.). 

Readers, especially those with a mental health background, frequently comment about how they appreciate the realistic representation of unique mental health issues and disorders. Especially the experience of trauma. 

What would you say has been your biggest success so far?

Finding out that Lisa Jewell reads my books and is a fan. I have SO much respect for her as a writer and finding out that she was into my books was such a compliment. 

If you could go back in time to one book you read for the first time, what would it be and why?

Gone Girl because it takes a lot to shock me and I can almost always predict twists, but I didn’t see the first big twist coming. 

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Follow Lucinda and all her work on Facebook, Instagram or Amazon

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