As a vocal proponent of open adoption and lifelong connection to birth country, Jessica O’Dwyer, AS80, an adoptive mother to two teens, travels to Guatemala each summer to visit with her children’s birth families and has extensively written on the topic—from pieces published in a long list of publications, including the New York Times, to her 2010 memoir. Now, her 2020 novel, Mother Mother, chronicles the intertwined lives of an adoptive mother and birth mother and their six-year-old son who is dealing with lingering trauma from his Guatemalan orphanage.

In the months leading up to the release of her second book, O’Dwyer talked with UD about her writing journey and the University’s role in it, including one student literary award that, for decades, continued to push her to pursue her writing dream.

UD: What brought you to UD as a student?

JO: I was interested in English and theater, and UD had strong programs in both. The University was away from my central Jersey shore home, but not too far. This sounds hard to believe, but the first time I laid eyes on the campus was the day I arrived for orientation. What a gorgeous surprise!

UD: When you were a student, your first published piece was in the Grover literary magazine. Can you talk about that and the award you received for it?

JO: I loved to write and had always written—I was that kid who kept a journal at age 10—but my first formal instruction didn’t happen until senior year at UD. I’d written a short story for my creative writing class—titled “The Dancer”—which my teacher, the poet Vanessa Haley, encouraged me to submit to Grover. To see my words printed on a page was an absolute thrill. And to learn the piece had won the Ida Conlyn Sedgwick Prose Award: Wow. A huge honor.

For decades after college, I submitted many short stories to literary magazines and racked up countless rejections. Then I’d remember the Grover award. At one point, somebody believed my writing showed potential. That vote of confidence kept me going.

UD: How did your UD experience influence your professional career and your writing pursuits?

JO: My years at UD influenced my life in every way. I spent four years in a creative bubble: I read great works of literature as an English major, acted in theater, studied dance. My linguistics professor, Dr. Louis Arena, hired me as a tutor in the University Writing Center, where I met students from around the world. Dr. Arena also encouraged me to participate in the UD semester abroad program in London and helped me secure a scholarship. Attending UD changed my life.

My first job after college was as a legal proofreader on the night shift at a Park Avenue law firm in NYC. From there, I segued to book publishing and the editorial staffs of several magazines. I ended up in California as an art museum publicist. My UD education prepared me for all these opportunities.

UD: How long was your novel in the works? Can you tell us a little about your successes and challenges writing the novel?

JO: From first jotted notes to publication took seven years. I immersed myself in Guatemala. I read books and articles, diaries in translation, and watched documentaries. During our summer trips to Guatemala, we visited with my kids’ birth mothers and I felt the complexity of their stories. A novel was begging to be written, but I couldn’t find my way in. Then one summer we hired a driver to take us to Nebaj, the epicenter of the country’s 36-year civil war. The minute I saw the town square, the church, the graveyard, the entire narrative arc came to me. I knew the novel’s beginning and end. Figuring out the middle was a little harder.

UD: How have your children reacted to your novel?

JO: My kids are proud of me for finishing. Whether or not they’ll read the novel is another question.

UD: How does it feel to share your stories far and wide? What do you hope readers will take away from your pieces?

JO: I’m a storyteller, so my main goal is to write a book that’s a good read. I hope readers come away feeling like they’ve lived an experience along with the characters, and learned something about families and marriage, about Guatemala and about what it means to be a mother.

Jessica O’Dwyer lives on the West Coast, loves connecting with fellow Blue Hens (including two of her best friends from UD, who also live on the West Coast), and is a loyal contributor to UD, supporting the English Department in the College of Arts & Sciences.