Finding Stability: The Millions Interviews Michelle Webster-Hein
Michelle Webster-Hein’s debut novel Out of Esau tells the story of Susan Shearer, a woman in her late thirties who lives with her abusive husband Randy and two young children in a small, rural town in Michigan. She seeks solace at the nearby church, where she forms a connection with Robert Glory, a single middle-aged pastor who feels trapped by his duty to the church community and conflicted over his Native American identity.
Written in painterly prose, Out of Esau switches points of view with each chapter, empathetically exploring each character’s perspective and personal history. I talked with Webster-Hein about cycles of abuse, systems of repression, and how her upbringing shaped her literary approach.
Liv Albright: Can you start by telling me a bit about Esau, Michigan, the novel’s setting? What compelled you to locate the story there?
The town of Esau used to be this up-and-coming town. Then in the early 1900s a series of fires swept through and took out building after building, and it
