Why So Sad? by Sally Murphy

I have a confession.

I love to make people cry! The good news is, I also like to make them laugh. And if they can laugh and cry at the same time that’s pretty good, too.

You see, as an author of books for children, I believe it’s my job to share stories which make readers feel. It’s when we care what happens to a character that we keep turning pages. If a story makes us laugh, or cry, or sigh, or even tremble with fear, then we are connecting with that story, and that’s a good thing.



Some of my stories, though, are on really sad topics. One is about a dying grandmother, one is about a boy with cancer, and my most recent one is about a girl whose mother has been terribly injured in a car accident. Not everyone who reads these stories cries, but loads of people do – and even I cry when I read them.

When I wrote Pearl Verses the World, I cried so much that I had to stop writing, and go and lie on my bed and sob. After I’d written it, and while it was being prepared for publication, all the adults who read it told me it made them cry: the publisher, the editor, the publicity officer -they all cried. I started to worry that maybe it was too sad. What if what I’d written was so sad that kids all over Australia cried when they read it? And what if that made their teachers and parents hate me for making their children cry?

What I found, though, after Pearl was published, was that not everybody cried. And that even those who did cry, smiled as well. Most even laughed. Because in amongst the sad bits are lots of happy and funny bits and, importantly, hope. Not everything that goes wrong in Pearl’s life can be fixed, but her world does get better.

In Toppling I tried to do this again: make sure that in amongst the really difficult times of caring for a sick friend, there is hope that things can get better. Most recently, in Roses are Blue, I’ve again worked hard to offer hope, this time for a girl who’s struggling to cope with her mother’s injuries. I hope I’ve succeeded.

Because, and here’s the whole point of this piece, sad stories are important.

They’re important because there are a lot of sad things happening in the world, and in children’s lives. Whether it’s death or illness, or war, or even the loss of a pet, we all have bad stuff happen in our lives. Reading stories about these things can help us to cope with our own bad stuff, or even help us to experience the kind of stuff that might happen in our friends’ or relatives’ or classmates’ lives.

At the same time, seeing that amongst this sad stuff, life goes on, and good things can happen too, is important. If Pearl, and John, and Amber (my three main characters) can find things to smile about, maybe we all can.

In the end, I want kids to be happy.

About the Author

Sally Murphy grew up loving books and kids, and loved both so much that she became a children’s book author. She’s had over 35 books published, including picture books, nonfiction, and popular verse novels Pearl Verses the World and Toppling. Her newest book, Roses are Blue, will be released on July 1.

When I was in primary school I loved to read anything with words – but remember a book called Mandy by Julie Edwards Andrew as a special favourite. I also loved the Trixie Belden series, and the Chalet School series. More recently, I have loved Glenda Millard’s Kingdom of Silk series and Sandy Fussell’s Samurai Kids series.

You can visit Sally online at www.sallymurphy.com.au