Reconnecting with your creative identity after a massive life shift is challenging, especially when that shift is motherhood. Today, I am talking with debut author Adrienne Thurman about her new contemporary rom-com, Don't Tell Me How It Ends. We have an incredibly honest conversation regarding the isolation of the first year of parenting, processing postpartum depression, and how navigating those heavy phases of life can actually spark the desire to write gloriously unlikable women who get the happy endings they deserve. Adrienne Thurman writes romance and commercial fiction where gloriously unlikable women get the happily ever afters—or revenge plots—of their dreams. As a BIPOC creator, she writes stories with a diverse cast of characters that makes her readers feel seen. Don't Tell Me How It Ends is her debut novel. In this episode, we're discussing:Reclaiming Identity Through Fiction: Adrienne shares how the isolation of the pandemic and the challenges of early motherhood led her back to writing as a way to fill her own cup separate from parenting.A Vulnerable Look at Postpartum Depression: A raw discussion on the physical and emotional toll of the first year of motherhood, processing postpartum depression, and how that heavy phase inspired her to create complex, authentic characters.Sibling Case Studies: An analysis of the sibling dynamics in her debut—how two sisters raised in the exact same household can develop completely opposite coping mechanisms and perspectives on love.Grounded Humor Over Ridiculous Scenarios: Why the best rom-coms build humor directly from a character's sharp personality and a true crime obsession rather than forcing them into absurd situations.Heavy Realities in Romance: Adrienne discusses balancing a hopeful romance narrative with real-world gravity, including the representation of a parent living with early onset dementia.CONNECT WITH ADRIENNE THURMAN:WebsiteInstagramBOOKS/AUTHORS MENTIONED:Don’t Tell Me How It Ends (Amazon)Running list of books mentioned (Doc)Support the showJoin the After Dark Substack CommunityConnect with Alesia:StorygraphInstagramThis podcast was produced by Galati Media.Proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.