PHOTO: Nina Neilson Little, author and storyteller, at home in Erie, Colorado, surrounded by her family, pets, and the creative spirit that fuels her writing.
Memoir Travel And The Power Of Words
Nina Neilson Little reflects on her memoir Spirit Baby, her struggles with infertility, the healing power of travel, and her lifelong passion for storytelling that inspires and connects readers worldwide.
Nina Neilson Little writes with a rare combination of candour, warmth, and insight. Her path has taken her from the fast-paced world of journalism to the quiet intimacy of the classroom, and ultimately to the deeply personal territory of memoir and children’s literature. At each turn, her words have been shaped by a profound respect for story—not only as a means of self-expression, but as a way to connect, to comfort, and to expand understanding.
Her memoir, Spirit Baby: Travels through China on the Long Road to Motherhood, is both tender and unflinching. Part travelogue, part personal testimony, it navigates the terrain of infertility and the complexities of international adoption while celebrating the beauty and traditions of China. What emerges is not simply a chronicle of hardship, but a testament to resilience and the transformative power of journeying—both outward, across borders, and inward, into the most vulnerable corners of the heart.
Little’s writing is defined by honesty and accessibility. Whether recounting the humour in unexpected travel moments, the struggles of her own childhood, or the delicate balance between hope and loss, she does so with a voice that feels like a companion at your side. Readers often describe her work as the experience of sitting with a trusted friend, guided through life’s hardest questions with grace and generosity.
Her commitment to storytelling extends beyond her own experience. As a former literacy specialist, she has carried forward her belief in the power of books to educate and to heal, sharing that conviction with students who, like her younger self, once struggled to read. In every respect, Nina Neilson Little reminds us that stories are not only reflections of life, but also bridges—leading us toward one another, and toward a deeper compassion for the journeys we each endure.
What inspired you to write Spirit Baby and share such a deeply personal journey with readers?
Spirit Baby came about because I saw a need for a book about infertility that is honest but hopeful and informative but not technical (with a healthy dose of humor). Since my infertility journey led to an international adoption effort, I also saw the opportunity to write a positive book about China, that focuses on its beautiful landscapes, fascinating traditions, and captivating culture, not its modern-day problems.
Part memoir and part travelogue, Spirit Baby reflects on my tumultuous childhood, years of infertility struggles, marriage highs and lows, international adoption effort and the cathartic benefits of travel. In addition, I take readers on a journey from the historic cities of northern China to the stunning landscapes of southern China, as my husband and I absorb the local history and culture in preparation for raising a Chinese orphan. I won’t give away the surprise ending, because my path to motherhood went in many different directions. But I can tell you that the book has a very happy ending and that I am a mother.
My editor calls it “Eat Pray Love” for infertility, since traveling to China helped me to survive a personal hardship and enjoy life once again. If Spirit Baby can help spread the word about my genetic blood disorder, help even one person avoid years of misery from infertility and/or inspire readers to discover the healing benefits of travel during difficult times- then I feel I’ve done a good job.
How did your time in Paris and China influence your perspective as a writer and a person?
Traveling pushes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to overcome insecurities and fears (especially while traveling alone as I did throughout Europe). It also expands your world view, introducing you to cultures, religions and lifestyles that may be different from your own and people you might never otherwise have met. Any sort of travel has lasting effects, as you will forever walk through life with a wider, more knowledgeable and hopefully more compassionate view of people and places around the world.
Writing about infertility is intimidating; the topic can be triggering, depressing, and overwhelming. This is why, instead of creating another book focused solely on the technical side of infertility, I chose to blend my journey through infertility with a cathartic trip to China (sharing a few Chinese legends and feng shui beliefs about virility along the way). I strongly believe that traveling during times of trauma and stress can be very healing. It’s hard to carry emotional baggage across an ocean and remain depressed when you’re served snake wine with lunch!
Can you share the process of turning your personal journals into a full memoir?
While I don’t keep a daily diary (sadly day-to-day life is a bit too boring and repetitive), I write very detailed travel journals. While traveling, I want to learn all I can, encourage myself to take part in the local culture and forever keep my memories. In creating travel journals, my awareness is heightened, and I observe subtle nuances of culture, language, and setting that I might not have otherwise discovered.
While working as a nanny in Paris, in my 20s, I would stay up late scribbling, often journal on park benches, and sometimes write while taking the metro, to be sure and capture every detail of Parisian life. Over the course of a year, I finished eight journals. While traveling in China, I asked endless questions of tour guides, taxi drivers, restaurant workers, shop owners and hotel staff. In China, I had the added incentive to learn everything I could so that one day, I might enrich the life of an adopted child and honor their roots.
I believe in the power of books to educate, alter perspectives, and inspire. After suffering through years of miscarriages, high-tech fertility treatments, an international adoption effort and a diagnosis of a genetic blood disorder; I figured I had a beneficial, relatable, and relevant story to share with the world. As a former newspaper reporter and magazine editor, I had the writing background and once I had an answer to my “unexplained infertility” and an unexpected windfall in my motherhood journey, I knew I had the story. And so, my book Spirit Baby: Travels through China on the Long Road to Motherhood was born out of my travel journals and memories.
What was the most challenging part of writing about such emotional experiences?
I think books, especially memoirs, can’t be any good if they aren’t honest and at times raw and emotional. I couldn’t write a meaningful memoir about infertility without digging deep and pulling the Band-Aid off my own infertility. I wanted readers, whether they had suffered, are currently suffering or have never dealt with infertility, to know that I have been in the trenches and survived. I wanted to hold readers’ hands and walk them through the trials of infertility as well as the healing benefits of travel, not just preach from above.
For me, the most challenging aspect of writing a deeply personal memoir was finding balance between sharing too much and too little and wondering if my personal journey is relevant and interesting to others. My editor kept pushing me to share more personal details about myself, saying “memoir readers want to know the author intimately.” While I am very willing to share my journey, while writing my book, I feared sounding self-absorbed. I was also acutely aware that I was very fortunate to have the means to pursue infertility treatments and healing travel experiences, when many others are less fortunate (granted I blew through a small inheritance and maxed out several credit cards). In sharing the intimate details of my personal background and experiences, I hoped the book would be relevant and interesting to all infertility journeys, travel experiences and walks of life. By opening myself up to readers, I took the risk of having readers relate to me on a deep level or fail to connect – but when writing a memoir, that leap must be taken.
As a writer, what is most important to me is making those deep connections (whether to characters, setting or storyline). I absolutely love to hear from readers who have a strong emotional connection to my book. I’ve heard from couples dealing with infertility who could relate to my journey; parents, siblings, friends and partners who have shared my book with those suffering infertility; and countless readers who have been tested for blood disorders after reading Spirit Baby. Not to mention, numerous readers who enjoyed my book based on a connection to China or simply enjoyed a bit of armchair traveling.
I am always happy to hear feedback that “while her journey is one with sadness and loss, she writes with such positivity that the overall feel of this book is uplifting and wonderful.” One of the greatest compliments I have received is that my writing style is like “being taken by the hand” and “sitting down over a cup of tea with a dear friend.”
How did teaching students with dyslexia shape your approach to storytelling?
As much as I love books today, I wasn’t always a reader. As a child, I struggled to learn to read. I’ve never forgotten the trauma of being pulled out of the traditional classroom for remedial reading and my peers calling me “retarded.” Eventually, whether it was desperate incentive or simple readiness, I figured out how to read and once I did, I became a voracious reader. I walked to the local public library every weekend and read every book by Roald Dahl, fell in love with the poetry of Shel Silverstein and sped through the entire Nancy Drew mystery series (I even wrote my own fan-fiction including The Secret of the Haunted Treehouse and The Clue in the Locker).
After a decade in journalism, I decided to pursue an elementary teaching license, a master’s in education and an emphasis on early childhood literacy. I worked with the kindergarten flooding program, assisted low level readers in small groups, created a book club for middle school students with low fluency and comprehension, and became certified to work with students with dyslexia.
As a journalist, author and book lover, I was thrilled to share my love of reading with students, especially low level, struggling readers. At the beginning of each school year, I would introduce myself and tell my story. I’ll never forget the wild-eyed wonder in my student’s eyes upon discovering that Mrs. Little also struggled to read. This intimate bond of shared experience and deep personal connection helped me to relate to my students, meet them on their level, and be a more compassionate and driven teacher.
Who would have thought that the girl who struggled to read, went to speech therapy, and took remedial reading would grow up to earn degrees in journalism and education, teach others to read, and become an author?
Out of all the genres you’ve explored—memoir, picture books, narrative non-fiction—do you have a favourite, and why?
Tough question! While memoir took the most from me emotionally; children’s books are relatively easy to write but very hard to publish; meanwhile narrative non-fiction takes the most effort to research, write and edit. Writing children’s books reconnects me with youthful whimsy and wonder and is just plain fun! However, the children’s book market is completely maxed out, and it is very difficult to stand out from the slush pile and get a picture book published. I have written six picture books, a children’s narrative non-fiction series, and a humorous middle grade chapter book – of these efforts, I have self-published one. Once again, for memoir, you must be willing to offer up your personal life: your background, your choices and your experiences to potential criticism (in addition to your writing ability and creativity). There is a quote, most often attributed to Ernest Hemingway, which relates most directly to writing a memoir: “Writing is easy. You just sit down at your typewriter and open a vein.” Narrative non-fiction and historical fiction are by far my favorite genres to read, however, writing these genres is a labor of love. Writing narrative non-fiction is a very long process. Unlike children’s books and memoirs, which can potentially be written relatively quickly and easily (during coffee-fueled late nights and with random strokes of brilliance), narrative non-fiction takes years of research, writing and editing. I started my narrative non-fiction project roughly three years ago and am still checking facts, adding details, streamlining information and perfecting the required non-fiction, query proposal.
I like to think I’ve found a unique niche in blending book genres, including Spirit Baby, which is a mix of memoir and travelogue and my current WIP, Southern Roots, which is a blend of narrative non-fiction and memoir.
What advice would you give to other authors trying to turn their personal experiences into compelling stories?
I’ve learned that writing a book is hard, editing a book is harder, getting a book published is hardest and marketing a book is an ongoing, full-time, commitment. It hasn’t been easy publishing and promoting a memoir, in a market saturated with memoirs, during a pandemic and the closure of numerous independent bookstores. It seems every fading celebrity, retired athlete, world traveler, soccer mom and lovable senior has a story to tell. Anyone and everyone can self-publish these days; but while it’s possible to publish (at least if you have the means to self or co-publish), it’s impossible to promote a book when up against major publishers and corporations.
I’ve learned to quickly let go of disappointments, always search out new opportunities, and enthusiastically celebrate achievements. While it has been challenging to grow my audience, those that have read my memoir have predominately shared glowing reviews and the readers who have learned from my book and gone on to become parents and world travelers make it all worthwhile.
I was thrilled when readers on Instagram voted Spirit Baby a Top Memoir (2019), a Top Ten Book of the Year (2020), and a Book of the Month (2021). Reviewers have called Spirit Baby, “a heartfelt and honest memoir,” “a reminder of why we travel,” and “a heartwarming and inspiring journey.”
If you’re going to write a memoir, you’re going to have to take a deep breath, dig deep and fully open yourself up to ridicule or compassion, deep connections or complete judgment; anything less than full commitment and complete transparency is a disservice to a memoir reader, who wants to fully experience the journey with you.
