Peters Township grad鈥檚 second book explores love against backdrop of pandemic
Nicole Spindler鈥檚 second book, 鈥淭he Reason Why,鈥� is set in Pittsburgh and nearby communities.
Copies of 鈥淭he Reason Why鈥� by Nicole Spindler are displayed.
A year after having her first book published, Nicole Spindler is well on her way to completing another.
The Peters Township High School graduate鈥檚 鈥淏eyond Life鈥檚 Moments,鈥� a memoir influenced by her father鈥檚 journey through battling cancer, shares the stories of others who have overcome adversity.
For the follow-up, 鈥淭he Reason Why,鈥� Spindler explores a similar theme.
鈥淚t builds off this idea of really trying to bring life鈥檚 challenging chapters to light,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ith my writing, that鈥檚 what I want to do. I really want to highlight different stages, different moments in our lives that are universal. They鈥檙e all common among us, but some people just don鈥檛 have the courage to talk about them.鈥�
Her approach this time around takes a turn away from nonfiction, as protagonist Emma Cantor balances a full-time job and her songwriting talent to find fulfillment in her life.
鈥淚 think this book is definitely a challenge for me,鈥� Spindler said. 鈥淚 was ready to write a fiction novel, completely third-person, create these characters and their backstories.鈥�
As for Emma, she bears more than a passing resemblance to her creator: In addition to writing books, Spindler has a career working in human resources.
鈥淚鈥檓 pulling inspiration from my life, other people鈥檚 lives, and really kind of answering this question of, can you ever really fall in love with someone else before you fall in love with your own life first?鈥� she said. 鈥淟ove 鈥� in terms of friendships, family, even relationships 鈥� is something universal. It鈥檚 something we all have.
鈥淎nd obviously, love is usually talked about in romance novels and typical love stories,鈥� the South Hills resident continued. 鈥淏ut I wanted to kind of take a different approach to the topic of love and focus on really the most important form of love: love for yourself, for your own life.鈥�
鈥淭he Reason Why鈥� is set in the Pittsburgh area against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on dating and dealing with various other pressures.
鈥淚 really just want to hit home with a lot of people, and I feel like especially with the pandemic, with people craving human interaction and connection, there鈥檚 no better time than right now to talk about this topic,鈥� Spindler said.
鈥淎 lot of my friends have come to me sharing during COVID: 鈥業鈥檝e struggled with maintaining family relationships and friendships, and trying to date in COVID. And it sucks.鈥� These are some of the conversations my demographic is talking about, and I feel it鈥檚 a really great idea to start writing about this.鈥�
Among the pressures she addresses are those stemming from social media and its tendency to make users 鈥渇eel like we鈥檙e not good enough.鈥�
鈥淎 lot of people post weddings. They post engagements and all these amazing, exciting updates, which is wonderful, because that鈥檚 all good news,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut, honestly, that鈥檚 all you see.鈥�
Reading such material, though, can produce a negative effect.
鈥淧eople feel like they鈥檙e alone. They鈥檙e left out. They鈥檙e missing out. And that has a really huge impact on people鈥檚 mental health,鈥� Spindler said. 鈥淲e look at social media and think that鈥檚 everyone else in the world. But in fact, there are actually more people who are single. There are more people who are looking for someone.鈥�
Her recommendation is to try looking within.
鈥淲e鈥檙e putting all these crazy expectations on ourselves, that we have to mold ourselves to be a certain way, but not really recognizing that the way you are is amazing,鈥� she said. 鈥淓mbrace your imperfections. Embrace your quirks and qualities, because once you do that, you will be able to open up love for your family, for your friends and obviously for a future soulmate or partner.鈥�
Plans call for New Degree Press of Potomac, Md., which published 鈥淏eyond Life鈥檚 Moments,鈥� to do the same with 鈥淭he Reason Why鈥� in late May. In the meantime, the publisher is working with the author to develop an interactive preorder effort.
鈥淵ou actually get a behind-the-scenes look, for three or four months, about what it鈥檚 like to publish a book. What鈥檚 it like to revise?鈥� Spindler said. 鈥淵ou get to help me pick out my cover. You get to read sneak peaks of my book, a couple of early chapters.鈥�
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