By Cameran Steiger ’26
Contributing Writer
Amity Gaige has been many things: a professor of creative writing at Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College and Yale University, a publishing professional, and a bestselling author. Her most recent venture, “Heartwood” — released in April of this year — is a harrowing lost-hiker narrative following Valerie Gillis, who hits the Appalachian Trail to shake off her experience serving as a nurse during the pandemic. When she vanishes into the Maine wilderness, an entire community must mobilize to find her. Among the searchers are Beverly, a Maine game warden responsible for bringing her home safe, and Lena, an unlikely septuagenarian armchair-investigator. They each carry emotional baggage of their own.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Ms. Gaige to discuss her time in the Pioneer Valley and the depiction of nuanced female characters in “Heartwood.” The following interview has been edited and condensed.
Q: While the vast majority of this story takes place in Maine, you included several references to the Pioneer Valley. What was it about living and working in this region that felt inspirational for you?
A: When we were living in Amherst while I was [a visiting professor] at Amherst College and Mount Holyoke, our house was around the corner from the Emily Dickinson House. And then, you go over to Mount Holyoke, and Smith; the illustrious people that have taught and [studied] there, like Sylvia Plath! There’s a statue of Robert Frost on the campus of Amherst College, and while I was there, I was lucky to meet the poet Richard Wilbur. He started talking about “Bob” and I’m like, “Who’s Bob?” and he’s like, “Robert Frost!” Because, he knew him! You’re surrounded by that, in the Pioneer Valley.
Q: You also hiked part of the Appalachian Trail as part of your research. Do you have any fun stories from that trip?
A: When I was hiking in New York, I met these two women in their seventies who were section hiking the trail. One of them smoked menthol cigarettes. Her name was Real. She said, “‘Cause I keep it real!” It was so funny to hike around her for a couple of days, because I could smell the cigarettes. It was so unexpected, and I asked Real, “Well, why are you hiking the Appalachian Trail?” and she said, “Better than sitting at home, waitin’ to die!” in a Southern accent. I love that gallows humor, and her toughness. There’s a lot of people who don’t conform to your idea of who’s supposed to be hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Q: Notably, “Heartwood” foregrounds multiple tough female characters who are also nuanced and sensitive. Can you tell me about your process here?
A: I always knew my lost hiker would be a woman. Perhaps I, as the author, could identify more with what it might feel like to be out there by yourself as a woman. An author always tries to find ways to relate to their characters. For me, Bev was actually the hardest character to write. [It] took a long time for me to relate to her, and what I ended up gaining access through was her sense of her size. I’m somewhat tall, not nearly as tall as she, but that's how that felt to me in adolescence: That sense of monstrousness. And [it was] her aloneness, and her longing, her longing for community. It was all of those things. It just happened. They were all women, and I ended up connecting with each of them in different ways.
Q: Beverly’s experience as a woman in the warden service is a core element of her character. Can you tell me about your experiences with the Maine wardens during your research for this novel?
A: They were very open to having a fiction writer in their midst. I went on ride-alongs with two different wardens, a man and a woman. Going around with the woman was particularly really useful. She was an amazing, confident person, and so dedicated to her work; she was born to be a warden. I loved being around somebody like that, who was so clearly doing what she was meant to do. And, unfortunately, there aren’t so many female wardens, and now with some of the interruptions in DEI [programming], there will be probably even fewer. In the book, Bev [talks about how] the warden service had so few women that they didn’t have a uniform for the female body until 2020. So, I was both inspired, and [it’s been] bittersweet [to see] the changes that are happening, since they were going in such a great direction.
Q: As an author and a professor of creative writing, what advice would you give to young writers at Mount Holyoke?
A: I would say to the Mount Holyoke writers — and I’m sure there’s many because it's a very creative place — you guys have access to incredible professors both at Mount Holyoke and in the Five College system. Get out there and learn from those people. Every creative writing teacher has a different way of seeing and teaching. Soak it up, confront new ideas and [understand that] writers benefit from knowledge about other subjects. There are great examples of writers whose expertise makes their fiction shine.
Abigail McKeon ’26 contributed fact-checking.