Amanda Eyre Ward

2 mins read
Amanda Eyre Ward
Amanda Eyre Ward

Where I’m Coming From

Compiled by Forrest Preece

Amanda Eyre Ward
New York Times Bestselling Author

  1. What’s something about you that not many people know?

I studied Swahili in Kenya and passed the fluency exam in Nairobi.

  1. What was your first job?

I was a lifeguard in my hometown--Rye, NY.

  1. If you could have dinner with three people – dead or alive, at any time in history—who would they be?

Tana French, Alice Munro, and my husband, Dr. Tip Meckel.

  1. If you had to pick three musicians for a playlist, who would they be? 

Sigur Ros, Kendrick Lamar, and Billie Joel.

  1. Favorite book and TV show?

My favorite book is The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles. My favorite TV shows are “Derry Girls” and “The Wire.”

  1. Most powerful movie you have seen.

Brooklyn, based on the novel by Coim Toibin.

  1. Favorite place in Austin? 

Hiking on the greenbelt. If I had to pick one place, it would be where the trail crosses the water behind Barton Hills Elementary School. (We call it “The Flats.”)

  1. Favorite restaurant and watering hole

Favorite restaurants are Papalote Tacos and Uchi. For drinks (even now that I am sober), I love Opa on South Lamar and Small Victory downtown.

  1. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I wanted to read all day and all night.

  1. Which living person do you most admire?

My husband, Tip Meckel, who is a research scientist at the University of Texas studying Carbon Capture and Sequestration. I admire him for fighting for climate mitigation when it’s too hard to fight…he does it anyway.

  1. What makes you happy?

Cheeseburgers in my backyard with all of my family and being in the middle of reading a great novel.

  1. Best advice you ever received?

“If you want to be a writer, stop applying to fancy jobs. Go where your best friend is, be a waitress, and write.”