Cecilia Vinesse

Cecilia Vinesse is a dual citizen of the US and the UK, and went to the international school in Tokyo. She is a graduate of Barnard College in New York and holds an MA in creative writing from St. Andrews. She still lives in the UK.

Vinesse's newly released debut novel is Seven Days of You.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Vinesse's reply:

Sometimes, when I know I’m going to love a book, I don’t read it right away. I tuck it somewhere safe–on a bookshelf, on the table by my bed—and wait for the day when I know I’ll need it. I think of these as lifeline books. “In-Case-of-Emergency-Break-Glass” books.

I picked up Emery Lord’s When We Collided the day it came out nearly a year ago, but after a few pages, I had to put it down. I knew it would be one of those books for me—the kind I needed to wait to read, the kind I wanted to save and to savor.

After Seven Days of You released a few weeks ago and after dealing with all the ups and downs that come with the territory of a major life event, I felt a little tired and too distracted to read. But I knew I could read this. The time for this book was here.

As someone who’s lived with anxiety and depression since I was a kid, it strikes a truthful chord on the deepest level with me. Its portrayal of living with mental illness is potent and incredibly familiar. But that’s not the only reason I love it. It’s also smart, vibrant, colorful, and clever. It smells and tastes like summer, and the prose feels like a constant breath of oxygen and light. It’s a book I’m having to slow down with, examining each sentence like it’s a piece of beach glass in my hand, hoping that maybe—if I take enough time—it won’t ever have to end.

But even when it does end, I’m certain I’ll pick it up again. Because, for me, the best kind of book is one that nourishes. It fills your senses and makes you brave. And it waits for you, on your shelf, a friend you can always call when you need them most.

Visit Cecilia Vinesse's website.

--Marshal Zeringue