Andrew McCarthy! Wasn’t he yours too?
Starting his acting career with such films as; Class, Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo’s Fire, Less Then Zero, and cult favorites Weekend At Bernie’s and Mannequin. (I used to know the words to every one of these movies.) Andrew was always the thinking girls crush and today I fell in love all over again. Playing Kevin in St. Elmo’s, he was in love with his best friends girl. Blaine from Pretty in Pink, wanted to be with Andie but what would his rich friends say? Each character he lends his talents to has an underlying Andrewness to them. Warm and sensitive but a reserved strong desire to be truly himself.
Today I had the chance to meet Andrew, yes I called him Andrew when we hugged. Yes a HUG!! He is humble and has a self awareness that we don’t usually see in Hollywood. A real dad, with a 15 , 10 and a 3 year old in the house. How does this man get anything done? He works right in the middle of the chaos and wouldn’t want it any other way. Unknown to me, Andrew has been a writer for years, he is an editor-at-large at National Geographic Traveler, and also writes for major newspapers and journals. He has received six Lowell Thomas awards, plus has been named Travel Journalist of the Year by The Society of American Travel Writers. Truly a man of many talents. He has also directed some of my favorite shows; Orange is the New Black, Blacklist, The Family and Grace & Frankie on Netflix.
His newest venture, a young adult novel, “Just Fly Away’, is about a 15 year old girl that learns of her father’s infidelities, how secrets effect everyone involved and just how to you move on when things don’t work out “right”. During the interview with The Moms; Andrew describe his process and why this 15 year girl. He had been writing the book for a while, always coming back to add and edit the text. Andrew’s young character soon became his favorite of the story and he changed the novel to be from her point of view. He then felt free and was able to tell the whole story. Simply because he found her the most interesting and wanted the readers to connect to her, her journey and in turn themselves. You can read an excerpt from the book HERE.
Go out and buy “Just Fly Away” at bookstores and on line, EVERYWHERE.
Thank you to Kmart and The Moms for a great event.
XOXO
Beth
