Vauhini Vara started writing some of the stories in This Is Salvaged when she was still in her 20s, two decades ago. From the complicated tension between two sisters to the way one mother chooses to selectively share information with her daughter, the stories in the book focus on the way people — primarily women — can struggle to connect with one another despite their best efforts. In today's episode, Vara tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes how time away provided perspective on her characters, and how she uses awkward or uncomfortable situations as jumping off points for her writing.