Authors Answer: Leah Fisher
Author interviews almost always focus on questions regarding an author’s latest publication (and that’s great because it’s how readers discover new books!) but sometimes it’s fun to ask authors to talk about their lives beyond the book they’ve just written. Authors Answer (started as a blog in 2020, moved onto Substack in 2025), is an attempt to give authors space to wax eloquent about the other influences on their writing. The questions posed here move beyond the formulaic classics like, “What books are on your nightstand?” or “What book inspired you to be a writer?” and even “You’re having a dinner party….which three authors (dead or alive) do you invite?” There are 20 standing questions. Authors pick FIVE that they want to answer.
Are you an author? Visit the Questions page to learn more about participating.
Today’s post features Leah Fisher
Leah Fisher worked for 35 years as a psychotherapist, marital counselor, and corporate consultant. During that time, she brought her expertise to television programs including The Oprah Winfrey Show and 60 Minutes, and to media outlets including Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal’s “Work and Family” column. Although she is pleased with her professional accomplishments, she is especially proud of her year of solo travel. Fisher is a self-proclaimed “wild and crazy grandma” to four young grandchildren. She lives with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Her book, My Marriage Sabbatical: A Memoir of Solo Travel and Lasting Love, published on January 7, 2025.
Instagram: Leahfisherglobalgrandma
Have you ever experienced imposter syndrome?
Yes, in the process of writing my first (last and only) book. While spending sixteen years working on it, I began thinking of my future book as an imaginary friend.
Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?
I love making flower arrangements for our home, and as a volunteer service to hospice patients, and as gifts to friends.
What do you worry about?
I worry about embarrassing myself in front of other people. Sometimes I hold back from doing new things to avoid the risk of feeling so embarrassed that my face turns red and stays hot for hours.
Do you speak a second language? Do you think differently in that language? Does it influence your writing?
My “second language” is the language of psychological curiosity. It has become natural for me to think, “Why am I, or why is this other person, doing what they’re doing?” “What are our hopes, fears or intentions?” “What might be going on that we are unaware of?” My writing is inevitably influenced by this perspective. I may experience a personal event or describe it in a story just as it happened; yet at some point, I will reflect on what this could mean or how it might relate to a larger picture. My book, a marriage memoir, is a lively story that also invites readers to increase their self-awareness and relationship understanding
What brings you great joy?
Laughing! And making others laugh.