The MAC Book Club had a special guest for one of its late spring meetings. Shorewood resident, author, and photojournalist Jeannee Sacken joined the group to talk about her 2021 novel, “Behind the Lens.” Her global travels inspired her to start sharing the stories of women and girls around the world.
“Members have the chance to recommend books, so you end up reading lots of things you might not normally pick,” said Emily Starr, member of the MAC book club. She reached out to Jeannee via Instagram after reading her book and hearing her speak at an event last fall.
“Behind the Lens” tells the story of seasoned photojournalist Annie Hawkins Green, who returns to Afghanistan to teach at her best friend’s school for girls after surviving a Taliban ambush.
Jeannee didn’t intend to write a series, but knew that her main character’s story wasn’t finished yet and released a follow up to “Behind the Lens” last year called “Double Exposure.” The third and final book “The Rule of Thirds,” will complete Annie Hawkins’ story and is scheduled for publication on October 3, 2023. It will focus on Annie’s return to Afghanistan to cover the story of the Taliban’s return to power.
Jeannee was born and raised in New Jersey and calls it “The perfect place for a little girl to play outside and give free rein to her imagination.” Now she calls Milwaukee home after relocating for her husband’s job. She adores it for its stellar cultural life, which she calls, “Tremendously inspiring.”
I had to follow up to learn more about her, because I was so intrigued. Below, find excerpts of our continued conversation to learn more about her background.
JK: When did you make the switch from photojournalist to novelist?
JS: First, I was an English professor at Rochester Institute of Technology when I made the decision to resign my tenure and become a photojournalist. It was on one of my very early photoshoots in Zimbabwe before I left academia that I met with a n’anga (a seer and healer) who threw the bones for me to heal my problems (although I didn’t think I had any problems). What he said surprised me because I hadn’t told him anything about myself: “You are an English teacher. But you need to tell stories.” That experience confirmed for me that I was on the right course. Soon thereafter, I jumped off the academic train and began a photo essay documenting the lives and work of women and children. A few years later, when I was mounting my first exhibit, the gallery owner put together a catalog in which I included each of my subject’s stories. Following up on that, I realized I wanted to tell fuller stories and so began a second creative career.
JK: How much of your experiences as a photojournalist is embedded in this story?
JS: I think most authors put some of themselves into their story. In my case, as a photojournalist writing about a photojournalist, I was able to use many of my experiences as the bedrock of my first two books. Indeed, some scenes or their emotional content are very much my own.
Although I’ve traveled extensively throughout Asia, I’ve not been to Afghanistan, so setting my novels there was a challenge. I’ve been to other countries in that region and did extensive research. I also worked with cultural and religious sensitivity readers to vet my stories.
JK: For you, what’s the main difference between telling a story with narrative versus a photograph? Have you come to prefer one over the other?
JS: I love the visual quality of photography, which is all about playing with light. Sometimes—like Annie Hawkins—I don’t fully see what I’ve captured until post-production, when I make some amazing discoveries. In fact, this process of discovery-after-the fact is a plot point in “Behind the Lens.” My photography has definitely influenced my narration to be very cinematic and to hone in on important and often ironic details.
That said, these two media are quite distinct from each other, and although there is an intertextual play and influence in my work, I keep them separate. I can’t write while I’m on a photoshoot. And photography can be difficult when I’m in writing mode. They are both important to me—two ways of seeing the world. I honestly don’t prefer one over the other.
JK: Are your photographs from your many travels on display anywhere or have you exhibited in the past?
JS: My images are displayed on my website, and in private collections around the world. I periodically have exhibits at galleries in Milwaukee, New Jersey, and New York. My husband and I also have shows as part of our “Journeys to the Ends of the Earth” series at libraries, schools, and various clubs around Wisconsin and Illinois. We’ve also presented on The Great Elephant Migration from Botswana to Zimbabwe, The Golden Eagle Festival in far-western Mongolia and The Coming Extinction of Lemurs in Madagascar.
JK: What is the most exotic location you’ve visited? One place you never want to go back to?
JS: I’m so fortunate to travel to many of the places I’ve dreamed of going. I’ve loved Madagascar and Mongolia, Laos and Namibia, the Bering Sea and Antarctica to name just a few. My absolute zen places are Zimbabwe and Sabi Sabi in South Africa. I haven’t yet come across a place I’d rather not return to.
JR: What’s next after this series comes to a close?
JS: I’m now working on a wholly different novel set in Zimbabwe, also suspenseful women’s fiction. Annie Hawkins and Finn Cerelli as characters have been such a huge part of my life and so incredibly real to me for years now, which makes it challenging to create new characters!
The MAC book club meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 12:00 p.m. over lunch. If you are interested or have ideas for books, please contact Sidney Stutzman at sstutzman@themacwi.com.