Home » Authors Interviewing Characters: Nicola Kraus

Authors Interviewing Characters: Nicola Kraus

May 1, 2025 | By Women Writers Women Books | Reply More

From Nicola Kraus, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny Diaries, with over 6 million copies in print in 32 languages, comes her first solo novel, a powerful heartbreaking story about righting the wrongs of a family’s past. In THE BEST WE COULD HOPE FOR: A Novel (Little A; on sale: May 1, 2025), Kraus delivers a fiercely imagined and moving read about motherhood, sisterhood, the role of memory, and a generation of women caught between repression and revolution. For admirers of Ann Patchett and Miranda Cowley Heller’s The Paper Palace, this is a wrenching and provocative story exploring family, the weight of secrets, the choices we make, the repercussions of the decisions made for us, and ultimately, the desperate drive to heal.

When Bunny Linden abandons her three children with her older sister, Jayne, in 1972, she knows Jayne will be the perfect mother. The mother Bunny, a teen runaway, could never be. As months turn into years without word, Jayne and her husband, Rodger, a rising journalism star, strive to give the children the opportunity to flourish and feel loved. When Jayne and Rodger finally have a child of their own, a seemingly stable home is built. But then, after nearly a decade, Bunny resurfaces and sets a chain of events in motion that detonates all their lives.

As adults, their children try to reassemble the pieces and solve the mystery that has always haunted them. Who were their parents? What really happened between them? And who is ultimately to blame for the destruction? But will the answers they seek set them free―or lead to something far more damaging than anyone imagined?

NICOLA KRAUS INTERVIEWS LINDEN

Nicola Kraus: Linden—is it ok if I call you Linden?

Linden Donoghue: My friends call me Lin.

Nicola: Ok, Lin. You look really nice today. Where are you headed?

Lin: Oh, really? I feel a little sweaty, honestly. Maybe the raincoat was too much? I never know how to dress at this time of year. One minute it feels like summer is coming, the next its blustery—I’m heading to my aunt’s funeral.

Nicola: I’m so sorry for your loss.

Lin: No, don’t be. I mean, it’s not my loss. This one. Others have been. Do you mind walking with me? It’s just that I’m late.

Nicola: What did you mean, not your loss?

Lin: Well, I didn’t really know her very well. I haven’t seen her since I was six.

Nicola: That was a long time ago. Did she live far away?

Lin: No, just across the park. Sorry, I’m totally overheating in this trench. Maybe I should walk slower. She and my mom didn’t talk anymore.

Nicola: Why if I may ask?

Lin: Well, it’s complicated… but she was also my stepmother. Here, can you hold my purse? I’m going to take this off.

Nicola: As in, married to your dad?

Lin: Yes, it was a little messy. Thank you.

Nicola: No problem. It sounds messy.

Lin: Well, you know how it is… my aunt did the whole turn on, tune in, drop out thing and ended up leaving her kids with my mom in the early 70s. Then when she came back …

Nicola: She ended up leaving again with your dad.

Lin: It sounds worse than it was. It was fine. We’re fine. We’re totally fine. I’m totally fine.

Nicola: Why did you stop walking?

Lin: It’s just…I don’t know if I should go to this funeral. This might be a really bad idea. Oh shoot—I’m late! I have to run.

Nicola: Good luck, Lin!

Lin (calling back over her shoulder): Thanks! I’ll need it!

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Nicola Kraus has coauthored, with Emma McLaughlin, ten novels, including the international #1 bestseller The Nanny Diaries, Citizen Girl, Dedication, and The Real Real. Nicola has contributed to the Times (of London), the New York Times, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Town & Country, and Maxim, as well as two short story collections to benefit the War Child fund: Big Night Out and Girls’ Night Out. In 2015 she cofounded the creative consulting firm The Finished Thought, which helps the next generation of aspiring authors find their voice and audience. Through her work there, she has collaborated on several New York Times nonfiction bestsellers. For more information, visit www.nicolakrausauthor.com.