Helena Haywoode Henry speaks with RHS students about her new book, Last Chance Live! Photo by Kalissa Everett
Imagine being on death row for 11 years. Would you rather slowly work with a lawyer to help you get out, or go on a TV show with a chance for immediate freedom if you win?
That’s what author Helena Haywoode Henry asked Riverside students when she visited the media center on Nov. 6 to introduce her new book, Last Chance Live!
Haywoode is a former attorney from New York. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and attended NYU School of Law.
According to the publisher’s website, Last Chance Live! tells the story of an 18-year-old death row inmate named Eternity Price who competes on a reality TV show for a chance at freedom. If America doesn’t vote for her to stay on the show, she will lose her right to appeal her sentence and will be executed within a week of being eliminated.
Eternity, who has never had many friends, finds herself forming bonds with the other contestants in the reality TV show house. She must decide whether to betray her new friends to secure her own win or sacrifice her own life for the community she found.
Haywoode wants her book to encourage people to ask more questions instead of just believing what someone or something tells them. She was inspired by Tressie McMillan, a New York Times columnist and author.
“She’s my Beyoncé,” Haywoode said.
While she was a college student, Haywoode met a young girl who had a tough upbringing at a time when the laws were changing on whether the death penalty should be applied to all ages instead of 21 and over.
Haywoode modeled Eternity Price after the girl and used what she learned from McMillan to create a fictional story for both older and younger readers to think about.
When she considers ideas, Haywoode asks herself, “Is this true?” to encourage more questions and avoid accepting anything without questioning it. She hopes her book helps readers do the same.
“It’s not about what to think, but how to think,” she said.
Haywoode had challenges during the seven years it took her to write the book. She started after her first child was born, and later got an agent who helped get a publishing deal.
“Having to put myself in the mindset of someone that thinks differently from me, has different views, perspective, and feelings was pretty challenging,” she said.
Haywood encouraged students to share their own stories in books someday.
“Swing for the fences,” she said. “Write about what’s bothering you. Get it off your chest. It doesn’t matter if anybody reads it. What matters the most is that your name is attached to something that means something to you.”
