Fall For the Book Author Profile: Beckie Weinheimer

By Broadside Correspondent Monika Joshi

Author Beckie Weinheimer walked into the empty church alongside her husband, surprised that the door had been left unlocked on a day when church was closed. She took in the musty smell of the hundred and 20-some-year-old building, which evoked a vaguely familiar feeling of bliss. St. Mary’s by-the-Sea was unlike the day before, when the smell of expensive colognes and perfumes had filled the air, and there had scarcely been a vacant seat. The sight of the sun shining through the beautiful stained glass windows left Weinheimer flabbergasted.

Like every other summer, Weinheimer was visiting Maine with her husband. On this particular day, they decided to go to St. Mary’s by-the-Sea since the church they normally attend was farther away. It was the first time in her life that Weinheimer went to a different religion’s church, and it turned out, St. Mary’s by-the-Sea was nothing like her red brick church with blank, white walls. She was very touched when the minister at St. Mary’s by-the-Sea spoke about raising money for the poor.

“We never did that in our church,” Weinheimer said. “We were all about exclusion, not inclusion … [the minister’s talk] made me think that’s what Jesus would want.”

Weinheimer spent the early years of her life in Utah, following a conservative religion that heavily influenced her way of life, and one that she later realized kept her “sheltered” and “ignorant.” After the death of her 12 year-old daughter, Weinheimer began to question her religion, and when she visited St. Mary’s by-the-Sea, she began thinking about it even more. As she admired the vacant church that summer afternoon, Weinheimer said to her husband, "I have to write a book about this church." And so she did.

Converting Kate is about a teenage girl named Kate whose religion controls every aspect of her life. The story begins with Kate and her mother moving to Maine from Arizona. Kate feels that life should not just be about blindly following the Church of the Holy Divine, so, against her mother's will, she decides to quit the church. Thus begins her search for answers, which is helped along by a church similar to St. Mary’s.

This young adult novel, Weinheimer’s first, has been selected by the American Library Association as one of the Best Books of 2008 and as one of the Books of the Teen Age by the New York Public Library. It has also been named Kliatt’s Editors Choice for Best of the Year’s Hardcover YA Fiction.

Weinheimer said she has received a strong response from her readers who commend her for writing about this taboo topic. A number of teenagers told her they were going through a similar situation. One girl wrote that her mother made her throw away Converting Kate.

“That really struck me because Kate's mother finds out she is reading ‘worldly books,’ and she throws her books away,” Weinheimer said. “I thought I was writing fiction and I have found that so many young teens face dilemmas just like Kate's and are trying to find their own road to spirituality.”

Weinheimer discussed Converting Kate, writing for young adults and gave quizzes on her book along with friend and fellow author Kathryn Erskine at Fall for the Book last Sunday. Their presentations kicked off this week’s Fall for the Book festivities, which will continue until Friday.