Interview with Mary Eberstadt, author of “The Loser Letters”

I had the opportunity to e-interview Mary Eberstadt, the author of The Loser Letters.  I hope you’ll enjoy the conversation as much as I did, and it will inspire you to read the book even more.

Thanks, Mary, for your willingness to take the time and answer my questions. 

First of all, well done!  I consider The Loser Letters an instant classic, no easy feat.  How did The Screwtape Letters shape your writing of this book and your idea for it?

Thank you kindly for that! The Screwtape Letters obviously did inspire the book, though only loosely. Like millions of other admirers of C.S. Lewis, I was knocked out by his success in delivering orthodox apologetics under the cloak of humor. In writing The Loser Letters, I was aiming for a similarly unexpected combination of satire and religious seriousness — especially for the newer generations of readers who may not have seen that combination before. That said, the influence ends there; they’re very different books from head to toe.