TW Creative Director John Vogel interviews author Tom McAllister about his new essay collection It All Felt Impossible (Rose Metal Press, 2025). For the book, Tom challenged himself to write an essay a day that corresponded to each year of his life, keeping within a 1500 word limit. The result is a kind of mosaic memoir through snapshots across time with some tangential thoughts instigated by the memories.
This is Tom’s fourth published book, his first being the 2010 memoir Bury Me in My Jersey about his late father and their shared love of the Philadelphia Eagles. His other two books are the acclaimed novels How to Be Safe and The Young Widower’s Handbook, which have both been noted for their mix of darkness and humor.
In their conversation, Tom talks about the experiences of teaching and being a student, expectations along the artistic path, and the community that art can create.
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