Especially now, when many of us are scared, anxious, isolated, and mourning, I hope that readers find a message of hope and connection in Iphigenia Murphy.” Despite the dangers of the park, Iffy feels safer there than she did in her family’s apartment and ultimately, the park does become a place of refuge and community for Iffy. “Iphigenia Murphy is about a fifteen-year old girl from a dysfunctional home who takes matters into her own hands when she runs away and sets up a life for herself in Forest Park, Queens. What is the book about and what should the reader take away from it? You have a new book out, Iphigenia Murphy. During what turns out to be a remarkable journey to find her mother, Iffy embarks upon a personal journey to ultimately discover herself. Whether fate or coincidence has brought them together, within this community of misfits Iffy can finally be herself but she still has to face the effects of abandonment and abuse, and the possibility that she may be pregnant. Iffy and the friends that she makes in the park–Angel, a stray dog with the most ridiculous tail, Corinne, a young trans woman who is escaping her own abusive situation, and Anthony, a former foster kid from upstate whose parents are addicts– all seek a place where they feel at home. Iphigenia Murphy captures the gritty side of 1992 Queens, the most diverse borough in New York City. The novel explores the sustaining love of friendship, the kindness of strangers, and the indelible bond of family. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with author Sara Hosey to talk about her new book, Iphigenia Murphy, a coming-of-age story set in Forest Park, Queens.

Iphigenia Murphy by Sara Hosey