Isabella Mente is a 20-year-old author and activist living in California. I had the chance to interview her about her first book 7,300 Days which was published last year. In addition to being an author and activist, she is extremely sweet and is full of joy!
What inspired you to share your poems and personal experiences with the world? What was the inspiration and the idea behind it?
What inspired me was when I was starting blogging after my freshman year at college, I went to school at a party school, centered around frat hook up culture, sex, drugs, you know all that fun college stuff. That was a really hard year for me, I wasn’t getting in line with my purpose, it was a year where I got lost and when I came home for the summer I got real with myself and told myself this is not how I am going to find what I wanted to do and I was feeling lost. I needed to find myself another way. So I started hanging out with girls who were vegan, and honestly veganism saved my life.
I Went through a traumatic year my freshman year, I was in an abusive relationship and my Parents split up. I needed to slow down, so I posted a video and shared my experience with anxiety and depression. I sat in front of a camera and I didn’t think about my reaction I just did it. That was the first time in my life I empowered myself, and I realized that anxiety and depression aren’t a hindrance and I thought this is apart of me a really powerful and beautiful part of me.
Another thing that inspired me was being Tired of liking on instagram and seeing facade, I was so tired of people not talking about real shit. I wanted to start a conversation and I wanted my book to be the start of that conversation. I wanted to open the door, I didn’t want to be the room to go to, but open the door for a lot of people to come to see what was really going on with them.
Talking about activism: what are things you are passionate about bringing awareness to?
Right I now, I go to school for creative writing, but I am also trying to get my law degree. Essentially what I want to do it write politically driven pieces that shine light on intersectional movements. I am starting to have my eyes opened because I just started school, I am in a human rights class which is essentially about activism and I have become aware about how activist movements in themselves aren’t intersectional. The women’s march has a lot of controversy surrounding it, I would have had mixed feelings about going had I known more about it. There was a lot of talk about female genitalia, but trans women didn’t feel included. In terms of activism I am all for it, but I want to make sure movements are intersectional. In order for social change to be possible we have to come together in a way where we realize that we have all been oppressed to some degree and respect that.
Passions regarding activism, what you want to accomplish through it:
I am all for feminism , black lives matter, I am against police brutality, I am against slave labor and how our modern prison system is based on prisoner labor which is essentially slavery. It is one thing when you aware of issues, and using social media to bringing awareness is important, but that isn’t where it stops for me I need to be doing something that is actually changing . How do I want to bring change? I want to write novels and books that put you in the mind and the heart of someone whose story isn’t regularly being told or heard. This was made clear for me when I went to an anti trump rally, this Woman on stage she was transgender and she said “I am a Black Puerto Rican transgender woman who is so proud” and that made me think, people who are white and experience white privilege need to be put in the mind of others. Unlike a lot of people, I believe education is the most important component of activity. Without education, how can you be empowered and change lives?
Along with that, I see you have traveled to Europe, has that impacted your views and writing?
Yeah, when I dropped out of my first university I went to Bali. I used money that I had saved for school and used in a way that was more beneficial for me. In Bali, I discovered I wanted to be a writer ,it completely changed me. Something clicked, I can’t express it in words. My path became so clear and unclear at the same and it came with discomfort but I was okay with this discomfort. it. Discomfort made me realize I wanted to be writing. Bali changed everything but Euroopt especially, I went to Copenhagen, my dad is from Copenhagen, my dad is from there, went to where he grew up, his bedroom and that was the most influential trip i had ever been on in my life. It made me understand his childhood and made me have compassion for him and love him. In terms of writing I would go to museums and write in my journal, I would write in front of tons of ar. That is where I wrote like half the book, I had planned it that way. I wanted Europe to influence my mind.
As an author and writer, you must have some favourite authors who influenced your writer? What inspires you to write?
My favorite author Roald Dahl, I just loved him. My dad would read me a story every night before I went to bed. I would always pick up Roald Dahl book and that was a big part of my childhood along with storytelling. Now, I have a lot of people ask me who my favorite writer is and I say Eliz gilbert and Ruby Carr if we are talking more modern authors. But my writing career is just now starting, I am just now calling myself a writer. When I was writing my book, I didn’t read anything else I didn’t want anything to influence the book. This summer I am going to read 7 books for myself. I need to read and understand different styles/syntax before I put something out. The book I wrote, was just what I thought it would be. Now looking forward, I need to become more established, knowing more authors, knowing their styles. Reading is a big part of writing.
I feel like I am not necessarily the norm for writers. What inspires me is not necessarily books or other authors, what inspires me is people. When people say something really compelling. My friend came into a party and he was in t-shirt, glasses and some pants, He went in my friend’s room and he put on dress, a sun hat and some ballet flats and he went around the party all night like that. That is what inspires me.
When you are writing, do you have a specific space you like to write in? Or when you move into a house, is there something that makes it feel like home where you can be 100% you?
In terms of place, I like to write in a room when I am completely alone. I have a hard time writing when other people are around, even with headphones in. I was in a coffee shop writing, and I kept looking up at a mysterious man reading the paper. I was writing a poem for the book and I tried to write, but I kept staring at this man wondering what his life is like. I keep wanting to know what his life was like what coffee he was drinking.In addition to being alone I like to be near water, when I was in Denmark I was completely surrounded by water which was wonderful my heart would always flutter. At home, I would drive to the beach everyday by myself and just write, it was my favorite way of writing.
In terms of home, I have to have Christmas lights hanging. I have to have Christmas lights, candles, pictures, plants and crystals.
Your book talked about a lot of personal things. Was there a story that was hard for you to write?
- Abuse because everyday I had to almost relive that. I was in an abusive relationship with this guy and that made me want to shine light on the different aspects of an abusive relationship. I wanted to correct Hollywood’s version of abuse which is punching in face or rape, because that isn’t the only way women or men are abused. I wanted to really shine light on how a relationship when you don’t communicate and you are not being honest and you are in it for the wrong reasons can be abusive. When you subject yourself to pain, you don’t see yourself as worthy, others take advantage of it. The passages of abuse and even talking now, I get this feeling in my tummy
- Writing about my dad and the divorce, because until the book was published know one really knew what was going on. I grew up in this area where everyone thinks everyone’s life is a perfect picket fence dream. When I published this, everyone was like “oh fuck”. It was hard to have people I’ve known since I was little read it. My aunt actually took me out to lunch after reading in and goes “I read your book. I never understood why you had to be so sad”. That made me realize not everyone can read it and understand why I wrote it.
- My first heartbreak, my first love. I very much still love him and still see him sometimes. It was really hard for me to put all of that out there because I haven’t resolved these feelings. I almost fell in love with him again as I was writing it and I didn’t want to feel those feelings again.
