Alaskan Humble Pie follows a spoiled rock star whose career is spiraling downward and drowning in scandals, leading to him being sent into hiding, where he starts to reevaluate his life and future. What inspired the idea of sending a famous rock star into hiding on an Alaska farm?

During 2021-2022 when I was writing the initial draft of the book, I was going through my own “Dark Night of the Soul” where I spent two years peeling away the various layers of my persona: mother, wife, financial analyst, business owner, foundation board member, daughter, and politician… to get to the root of my true essence. This started when my father was diagnosed with a malignant glio blastoma brain tumor (there is a character in the book, Eddy Bernard, the drummer who dies of a glio. This is a tribute to my dad), and literally two days later, also in early 2021, my husband was diagnosed with malignant mucosal melanoma inside his sinus. In this situation, you figure out fast what really matters…but most everything else in your life gets upended.

After serving six years in the Alaska state legislature as a senator, I didn’t seek reelection so I could instead care for my father and husband. My father died within the year, and my husband spent two years in intensive immunotherapy and so far, he’s in remission.  (Halleluiah!)

But that was only half the equation. With my father’s passing, the leadership role of our $750MM family foundation became vacant. My two cousins and I took over the shared chairmanship, and I quickly learned that fear, ego, and control, as well as power and money, can make people say and do awful things. My cousins had me questioning my own sense of self. To process my emotions, I walked for miles on the wooded trails around town, mulling over what they said about me, comparing that to what I thought about myself.  For nearly three years, nature was my solace and helped me heal.

Alaskan Humble Pie was coalescing in my mind during that time, particularly using the theme of physical activity as a mechanism to rediscover oneself. However, hiking alone in the woods makes for a boring read, and I needed something more dynamic for my character to do. So, I reached out to Arthur Keys, former Deputy Commission of Agriculture for the State of Alaska, whom I met while serving in the legislature. His family owns and operates several commercial farms in Palmer, AK. I called Arthur and spent two weeks riding tractors, picking carrots, and learning the difference between delicata and kabocha squash.

For me, nature and connecting with the land helped me process my grief, as well as strip away the “noise” from my extended family and figure out what really matters: living authentically, good health, and public service. I used Ryder’s parallel journey of farming to work through my own emotions and create space for spiritual growth. I discovered that it’s not your career, or your titles, or your committees that define you. It’s the intangibles, such as loving yourself, your family, your community; always learning, anything and everything; and finally, connecting meaningfully with those around you.   That is my real essence.  

How did you want Ryder’s understanding of himself to change once he was separated from his career and public identity?

It’s a fish out of water scenario. Without the daily habits of place, routine, and normal interactions, everything feels foreign, and people are forced to reinvent themselves. In the book, Ryder was used to being self-indulged by his fans, the media, and his promoters, which coincidentally sometimes happens as a state senator because people want your vote, or a line item in the capital budget for their project (which I was in charge of for two years). When I left the senate, no one wanted anything from me, except my husband who was sick as a dog for nearly a year and a half.

My sense of importance deflated pretty quick. I matured alongside Ryder to rebuild my self-worth and discover meaningful impact beyond my professional role.

And through our family foundation, I learned to let some things go and not try to control the outcomes so much. I accused my cousins of leading with fear and control, but then I realized I was doing the same thing, just packaged differently. Ryder couldn’t control what the media said about him, but he could control the people he played with, what songs he wrote, where he chose to play, and how he toured.

Both Ryder and Alison reach points where they have to reconsider the futures they imagined for themselves. What interested you about that shared experience?

I always thought I would run the Rasmuson Foundation someday (our family foundation). But I don’t think that opportunity will be available to me. In 2022, I also wasn’t sure if politics was in my future either, because while I am good at it, I also find it incredibly frustrating and oftentimes futile. After I left the senate, and my father passed away, I needed to reinvent myself. It took four years to figure out that:

1. I am a writer. I process the stickiness of life through character interactions.
2. I am a darn good board member for our family foundation
3. I am a knowledge seeker
4. I love nature
5. I love policy and I have a knack for it. So, I threw my hat to run for Anchorage Mayor. The election is April 2027.

At its heart, what do you hope Ryder and Alison’s relationship says about love, growth, and finding someone who encourages you to become more fully yourself?

The absolute most important decision anybody will make in life is who they marry. It is so important to genuinely like your spouse, have fun with that person, and to be able to be your authentic self with them. This means having both humorous and heartfelt conversations, having open and honest communication about both the good and bad stuff, no matter how much it hurts. Your spouse should be the one person who knows you best.

Rudi (my husband) and I just celebrated our 30^th wedding anniversary. It hasn’t always been a picnic. But the good times outweigh the bad by a long shot, and that is largely due to our commitment, hard work, and honesty with each other.

I wanted Alison and Ryder to have the same kind of relationship that Rudi and I have.

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