Eleanor Vincent

My goal is to create stories that engage, move, and uplift readers. I want my protagonists to stumble and overcome against all odds to be ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances. As it turns out, life has dealt me a few of those.

I am the author of two books, Disconnected: Portrait of a Neurodiverse Marriage and Swimming with Maya: A Mother’s Story. Both books are memoirs, and both are ultimately about love and loss.

Disconnected, my most recent book, is a fierce, funny, and compassionate look at my late-in-life marriage to a man on the autism spectrum and the heartbreak of its end.

My other book, Swimming with Maya: A Mother’s Story, describes the death of my 19-year-old daughter in a horse-riding accident and the subsequent donation of Maya’s organs to strangers in need. Meeting the man who received Maya’s heart, and the story of our ensuing friendship, gives readers an inside look at how organ donation affects grief recovery. It’s a New York Times bestseller and was nominated for the Independent Publisher of the Year award.

Professional and Creative Life

My poetry and essays have been published in several collections, including Creative Nonfiction’s anthology, At the End of Life, and This I Believe: On Motherhood. I have an MFA in creative writing from Mills College and have taught there as a visiting writer. I’m a member of the Author’s Guild and the San Francisco Writers Grotto, a community of writers where the hive energy inspires me.

Things I Love

Greatest joys: urban walks, Yoga, Zydeco dancing, and my grandchildren, not necessarily in that order.
Favorite book: Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, or anything by Zadie Smith, Louise Erdrich, Ann Patchett, Orhan Pamuk, or Jonathan Franzen.
Favorite TV series: Claire Foy in “The Crown,” in which the young Queen Elizabeth and Winston Churchill (John Lithgow) have some memorable face offs.
Things I can’t live without: jasmine green tea, espresso, dark chocolate, good bread, and frequent hugs.