Interview with Amber McBride, Author of The Leaving Room

Posted by Holly Schindler October 14, 2025

Interview with Amber McBride, Author of The Leaving Room

Welcome to YAOTL, Amber. Please tell us about The Leaving Room.

Hello, thank you so much for having me! The Leaving Room is a young adult novel in verse about the liminal space between life and death. We follow Gospel who is the Keeper of a place called The Leaving Room which is a space all young people must journey through after they die.

Gospel is not sure how long she has been a Keeper, but she takes her job very seriously. She makes sure that every Leaver that arrives feels loved, has a warm meal and leaves their best memory behind in a magical jar. Everything is going smoothly until Gospel starts to break some of the rules of the room. Another Keeper, a girl named Melodee, arrives and cracks start to sprout in the corners of the Leaving Room. Gospel and Melodee must work together to figure out exactly what is going on while still ushering children to the next place. The Leaving Room questions what happens in those moments right after we pass.

I was so moved by the idea of this mystical space. Where did the idea for it come from? Why did you want to focus on this in-between space?

Thank you so much! The idea for The Leaving Room really is years in the making. You know how you collect small thoughts and then ten years later you have a story? The larger concept is how the idea of death functions in different cultures. I was taught that death is also seen as a celebration of life. Not something to be feared, but that always seemed a little too easy because what if the life was short? So, I wanted to investigate that idea.

Also, when I was in college my dad had a near death experience that made me question the line between life and death for years after. Then over the holidays in 2023 I was working on a puzzle of a girl in a small room filled with books. While working on that puzzle the name Gospel and the entire plot for The Leaving Room arrived.

Gospel breaks rules throughout the story. But then again, love and human connection often defy boundaries. Was this rule-breaking always central to the story, right there from the first draft?

Yes! Some rules are meant to be broken right? The premise that Gospel breaking the rules could be potentially the thing that is “breaking” the Leaving Room was a central concept from the start. Gospel questioning where the rules came from and why we follow them. Something, I think, most young people do.

Memory plays a crucial role. Gospel collects memories in jars, but she's also forgotten her own life. What does memory mean to you?

Wow, this is such a thoughtful question. I recently loss my grandmother due to complications with dementia, so the idea of memory is something I am still working through. Do memories make us who we are? If we forget them, are we differeLnt? Or do memories stitch into the fabric of our souls so firmly that they change us fundamentally? I think about how even when my grandma did not remember anything she still knew who she was, she still had the same mannerisms and phrases. I think Gospel is who she is even when she doesn’t remember.

For me memories are balm in difficult times and very good starting points for stories!

The book deals with LGBTQ+ young love in the context of death and rebirth. How important was it to you to center queer joy even in the midst of such a weighty story?

As a queer Black woman, highlighting young queer joy and love is so important to me. We can love through difficult things and come out stronger. I feel a responsibility to show that.

You mention in the acknowledgments that this was your first book written without your dog Shiloh. I’m an animal person, too, and I know how they become a central part of our lives. How did grief affect your writing process for a book that's itself about grief and loss?

Well, it was the first time I ALMOST missed a deadline!

I was dealing with loss at work, at home and in my extended family while writing this book. I had to be gentle with myself. I also infused the book with so many memories that came directly from that grief. Gospel cooking for Leavers was in the first drafts of The Leaving Room, but the recipes (from my extended family, both leaving and ancestors) were a later addition. I added those because it felt like another way to manage my own grief on the page, by adding loved ones.

The book balances hope with heartbreak. Gospel and Melodee return to life, but they've also guided many children to death. How did you manage to balance that complexity?

Focus on the moments. The joy. The cooking. Childlike wonder. Or it might get too heavy. I also think the children can be a metaphor for our own childhoods which also helps balance aspects of loss.

Without giving too much away, the book has a powerful twist that reframes Gospel's entire journey and identity. Plot twists are so tough. How did you balance giving readers enough clues to make the revelation feel earned while still maintaining the surprise?

As a person who has written a few plot twists— trust the reader. Always trust the reader. They will find the breadcrumbs.

Your books consistently center on Black characters and experiences while addressing universal themes. How do you hope The Leaving Room speaks to both specific and universal experiences of love and loss?

I stand by the idea that all stories are love stories. Not in the stereotypical heteronormative way, but in the idea that love is an emotion that drives so many others. I try to infuse my books with that. I hope that The Leaving Room allows love and loss to sit at the same table comfortably.

What’s next? Another novel in verse? This is your fifth novel-in-verse. What keeps drawing you to this format?

Poetry is my first love. I have my MFA in poetry from Emerson College. For me poetry often feels like a very natural space to work in. The choice to use verse usually has a lot to do with the subject matter. I think poetry helps describe emotions or situations that feel, perhaps, a little impossible to explain. I also like how the brevity of verse is great for reluctant readers. With that said, taking a break from verse for a bit!

I have a picture book coming out in January and I’ve been working on some books for adults!