Sarah Marcus-Donnelly: A Thirst for Salt is a love letter to someone lost and the pleasure of beginnings. What I found so interesting was the insight into the lover, the “you.” There’s a context and history given to her that we are so rarely privy to when the “I” is suffering. The book questions our ability to have something or someone “forever”—maybe even the value of it. Can you talk to us about permanence (or lack thereof) and how it functions in this work? Hannah Leffingw

Sarah Marcus-Donnelly: This book is a beautiful meditation on gender expression as deception, threat, protection, absolution, violence, and condemnation. Please tell us about the process of researching and choosing these specific stories to tell. Why was it important for you to tell these stories? Fox Frazier-Foley: Thank you so much for your kind words about my work, Sarah. I’m honored to be having a conversation with you—about my work, and about feminism, theology, and myth

Sarah Marcus-Donnelly: In your essay, "Fixed in a Moment of Fierce Attention: 13 Ways of Looking at Claire Underwood," published in Little Patuxent Review, you examine your obsession with Robin Wright's character, Claire Underwood, from the Netflix series House of Cards. You write: "While devouring Wright’s filmography, I am dizzy with the succession of mediocrity, until Claire stops me still—a rupture in the reel." What is it about Claire Underwood that is so spellbinding? H

*CW: This post contains discussion of sexual violence. Sarah Marcus-Donnelly: Your captivating new book, Quite Mad: An American Pharma Memoir, out this September from The Ohio State University Press, does an outstanding job of blending memoir and relevant mental illness history. Can you talk to us a bit about the importance of striking that balance? What was it like to examine your own personal narrative within the greater context of America’s problematic treatment background