Ashley Woodfolk:
I feel like Lexi and I have this in common a little bit in that we're both raised to be the good girls, and we're both creative people. So with that comes a lot of perfectionism and wanting to always do things perfectly and wanting to make the right choices and make the good choices.
But with the podcast and this book specifically, it's taking off that mask and really showing and pushing people that no matter what you've done, it's okay to also just be honest and true and live in your truth as to who you are, because while your past doesn't define you, it's also a part of you and it's a part of your story, and that's okay as well. But the important thing is to really learn how to move on.
TV: That makes a lot of sense. How did you guys approach this collaboration? What was your process like?Whiteout with five other women who are also black authors who write young adult fiction. And so I was sort of on the tail end of finishing upwhen Lexi and I started collaborating together. Lexi was actually already working with the editor, our editor Maya at Scholastic.I got connected to Maya Marlette, our editor, through Reese Witherspoon when I was doing some work for them for Hello Sunshine, and so I was helping amplify [author]book.