Interview with Author Karey White

Karey White grew up in Utah, Oregon, Idaho and Missouri, the oldest of eleven children. She attended Ricks College and BYU. She’s married and is the mother of four children. She sews, has made wedding cakes for several years, and enjoys reading and writing.


Hello, Karey. Being an Idahoan myself, I attended Ricks College and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Please tell us about your new book.

Gifted is a very special book to me. It centers on family, friendship, love and sacrifice. After years of wanting to be parents, Brent and Susan adopt Anna, a beautiful baby whose parents died in a car accident. As she grows they discover there are unusual things about her and they’re torn about how to handle these special gifts. The book is relatable to parents because we all face challenges. We walk a fine line between protecting our children and preparing them for the world. It’s also a great story for teens because of the friendship between Anna and Kelsey, her neglected and abused friend. The story spans sixteen years and we see how Anna’s gifts impact the lives of those around her.

This sounds like a wonderful story. I love the book cover. Where did you get your inspiration for this novel?

Our neighbors had a grand-daughter who was nine months pregnant when she died in a car accident. The doctors were able to save her baby and so my neighbors had to deal with the difficult task of finding a home for this great-granddaughter. I went to bed thinking of them and had an incredible dream about this baby girl. When I woke up, I wrote down the dream. That day, I couldn’t get it off my mind and ideas started coming. This was on a Saturday. When the kids left for school on Monday, I started writing. In the book, Anna’s mother has a dream that helps her understand her daughter. It’s the same dream I had that night.

What are Anna’s gifts and why are they not only a blessing but a challenge, also?

The first gift that Anna’s parents discover is that everything looks better when Anna’s around. The world is more beautiful, things are brighter and clearer. They also discover that people learn better when she’s around. This seems wonderful at first, but once Anna starts school, comparisons are made between classes. With those comparisons come unhappy parents and teachers who are blamed.

Also, Anna doesn’t get sick or injured. While this is a blessing most of us would enjoy, it makes Anna feel like an anomaly and she wants to experience life, even the hard parts.

A Reviewer wrote, “Karey White employs the miraculous to illustrate the impact of one mortal's existence the way Capra did in ‘It's a Wonderful Life.’” I loved It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and how an angel helped him to realize that life was worth living. Tell us your thoughts about this comment. How does your novel compare with this movie?

I’m flattered that someone would think of my book in the same way as “It’s a Wonderful Life” because that is such a classic. I loved this review because it put into words exactly what I hope people take away from Gifted. In the movie, the angel shows George Bailey the impact he had on other people’s lives. In Gifted, we see a special girl and the impact she has on the people around her, and it’s significant. Many people who have read the book have said that it made them think about the effect they can have on others. I think that’s so important—making a positive difference in the lives of the people around us. 

A positive difference in the lives of others…what a wonderful concept of life! Now it’s time to tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget.

I hope my characters are more memorable than me because I’m not sure I’m that memorable. I guess an interesting thing would be that when I was a child, my parents bought and remodeled an old schoolhouse in Wallsburg, Utah and that was our home for almost ten years. We had a gymnasium, a principal’s office and boy’s and girl’s bathrooms. I still miss that house.

AWESOME! You actually lived in a schoolhouse? Wow! And I suppose that you ate in the cafeteria for all your meals? What was your bedroom like? Was it a classroom?

We used the old school kitchen and eating area for the first couple of years that we lived there, then my parents remodeled and put in a new, modern, family-style kitchen. At first I shared a bedroom, but when I turned twelve, I moved into the library and it was my own room. It was a pretty narrow room, but it had floor to ceiling bookshelves. I loved it! It was a perfect room for someone who loved books as much as I did.

What a cool house!!! Thank you, Karey, for such a fun interview. I not only learned about your new book but I learned a few things about you. Now we know the real you! An Author who once had a library for her bedroom! Ha! Wonderful!