Julia Baird
We are delighted to share with you our interview with Julia Baird, author of Bright Shining and Phosphorescence.
1. What does a day in the life of Julia Baird look like?
My mornings tend to be quiet. I have a cup of tea, scan the news, walk the dog, wave the kids off to school. Then I go for an ocean swim in my local bay with my friend Jacquie, lap for about a kilometre, peer into the reefs, play with the fish. I then return and write or research for a few hours, usually with some meetings in between, about various projects. I walk the dog, cook dinner for my kids and often some friends, then binge something good or curl up with a book, if I have a night to myself.
2. How do you set yourself up, creatively speaking, for a day of writing?
Being quiet first thing, reading and then swimming, clears my head. Then I’m all set. I often need to put an internet-blocking app on my computer. (I use Freedom) I also need tea, plenty of it, and snacks. Which I realise is not exactly creative, but it also really helps me write.
3. Bright Shining is a book about grace, what drew you to writing about it?
I gave long been interested in grace – in almost unfathomable acts of goodness, kindness, courage, decency or generosity – in those who forgive the unforgivable, who love the unlovable, who apply mercy without demanding merit. This is largely because my mother was so full of grace and as a teenager fighting my way through the world, holding grudges and judging people, I was amazed by how her ability to love, and let go, changed lives. I also have spent a fair bit of time in hospitals in recent years, with a series of surgeries to remove cancer, and watching the way nurses and medical staff care for vulnerable, suffering people, day after day, despite fatigue and frequent unpleasantness, has blown my mind.
4. What’s one story about grace you share in Bright Shining that really took your breath away?
I spoke to a Texan, Chris, who was abducted, shot and left for dead when he was just a ten year old little kid – and the man who did this to him was never charged or jailed. Decades later, his abductor confessed when he was on his death bed. Chris forgave him, began to visit him in his nursing home and was the only friend that old man had in the final weeks of his life. He wanted to show his kids and grandkids there was another way to be, another way beyond “eye for an eye”. This kind of act doesn’t mean justice should not be served - Chris wishes the old man could have still gone to jail, but it was too late. Chris radiates a kind of goodness, I was struck by his lightness and generosity.
5. What or who taught you what grace is?
My mother, who really demonstrated to me the unreasonableness of grace- forgiveness in the thick of horror (not that I think forgiveness should very be demanded or expected, and we need to be aware how it can be weaponised by abusers for example), being kind to the unkind, hoping for good for anyone who crossed or harmed her. She saw the best in people, gave second chances and I watched her transform lives. She made those around her want to be better.
6. You’ve tackled wander and awe in Phosphorescence and grace in Bright Shining, where did your interest in these particular aspects of humanity come from?
I’ve always been interested in the parts of our lives that show light, in the things we share, in what pulls us out of our everyday mess and shows us another way to be, to live. But it really has been being confronted with my own mortality through protracted illness that has made me realise deliberately pursuing awe and wonder can give us an inestimable strength, and that when we are the most vulnerable, we are often surrounded by remarkable acts of grace. Studies
show that the way most people experience awe is seeing moral beauty in other people. I realised, a few years back, that while we consider awe to be a nice experience we can dip in and out of – hike, swim, ski, garden – that it can be a powerful force in our lives, one that helps us endure, gives us perspective, and makes us strong. There is a ream of studies showing awe makes people more content, healthy and altruistic – we are more likely to look after other people, and to realise how small we are, how important we are to each other. This research absolutely fascinates me and it rings true to my own experience.
7. From your perspective, what does living gracefully look like?
It does not mean accepting abuse, injustice or oppression or simple politeness.
It does mean being aware of the burdens others shoulder, shying away from prejudice and stereotypes, allowing people to make mistakes – and to not to be defined by the worst things they have done – accepting the possibility of redemption, forgiving when we can so we aren’t crushed by things others have done to us, understanding beauty exists alongside horror, that when humans are at their best it infects and uplifts others around them, to see joy in nature and step lightly on this earth.
8. If there’s one thing you hope readers take from Bright Shining what would it be?
To turn our minds to the good that exists, despite everything, and foment it. To think about what happens when we witness grace, the mystery of it, and how it can be both difficult and simple. It doesn’t mean we’ll walk around skipping through fields and handing out daisies to dickheads, but it will mean we are more open to understanding those around us and accepting we are all flawed beings trying to muddle through.
9. What’s next from Julia Baird?
I’m working on a podcast right now, and am thinking of dipping back into history for my next book! And I’ll keep awe-hunting!
10. What books are on your TBR pile for 2024?
I’m currently reading Bee Sting and loving it. Next I want to read Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song, and Melissa Lucashenko’s Edenglassie. I’m also looking forward to James Bradley’s upcoming Deep Water, Kiley Read’s Come & Get It, Judith Butler’s Who’s Afraid of Gender? and Clarie Messud’s This Strange Eventful History.