The Grace Year

Kim Liggett, author of The Grace Year, says that her other novels were gradual processes, but The Grace Year hit her “violent and swift” after one morning in Penn Station (Preble, Joy. “Feminism in Our Times: Joy Interviews Kim Liggett, author of THE GRACE YEAR.” Brazos Bookstore). Liggett explains that she watched as a family sent their young daughter on a train to go back to her boarding school. The girl, who was probably about 13 or 14 years old, was ogled by an adult man who walked past. According to Liggett, she “knew that look,” and she knew that the man was looking at the girl like a predator looks at prey. She watched as a woman also walked past and looked at the girl, sizing her up as if she were competition. Liggett saw the look of relief on the girl’s parents’ faces when they sent her off, and she imagined they were happy to see their daughter going back to a place where she would be safe from the world. Liggett found herself marveling at “the things we do to young girls,” and she was overwhelmed with a sense of grief, anger, and powerlessness.