Published at 17: An Interview With Ashley Barcroft

At just 17 years old, Ashley Barcroft, a high school student in New York, has published her debut book The Challenges We Faced, The Women We Became. Inspired by change-makers, Barcroft set out to gather and share incredible stories of prominent women making great strides in their fields and beyond. Her book is structured in a question and answer format that allows the interviewees to speak for themselves, and she offers her own input to solidify just how important and influential these seventeen women are.

How old were you when you started writing your book?

Barcroft: I started my book the summer before my junior year, so I was fifteen when I first started conceptualizing it and started the interviews.

Where did you come up with the initial idea for your book, and how did that idea evolve over time?

Barcroft: I mean, I've always wanted to write a book, but I couldn't really piece together what exactly. I landed on the idea that I wanted it to be nonfiction, and I've been reading stories and researching different people's stories since I was a kid. I thought it would be a good idea to start reaching out to some of the people whose stories I became familiar with or whose stories piqued my interest. I thought it could be, in terms of current events, interesting [for] people to read about.

What was your ultimate goal in writing your book?

Barcroft: I think the goal really evolved over time while I was writing. Initially, the goal, I think, was growth for myself—to learn through it, then translate it to something interesting for the public as well, and lead them with me through my journey. I felt like this goal still held true, but as I [found] more and more women to do interviews with, I think it became larger. I really wanted to donate the profits to charity. I figured out how to donate to Amnesty International and set that up. It was the same goal, just on a larger scale.

What is Amnesty International, and what made you want to donate to them?

Barcroft: So Amnesty International is an organization that handles international conflicts. It tracks certain conflicts, like, for example, the Israel-Palestine conflict or the war in Ukraine. It covers [the conflict] and gives aid to support and protect human rights. From the start of the project, I knew that I wanted to donate to a charity. I'm also co-president of Amnesty International at my school. So, since I know a lot about the organization and what it does, I thought it would be the right one to donate to.

I imagine juggling school, planning for post-grad, and doing all of your other activities is pretty stressful and time-consuming. How did you start writing your book and keep making time for it?

Barcroft: I think when you're passionate about writing—the other stuff I still took care of, but it was more in the background. I was more focused on making time for the book to make it the best it could possibly be. So I think in terms of juggling things, I felt [that] over time I just learned how to manage the time and set aside time every night, either for an interview or for the other writing pieces of it, just to make it as good as it could be.

How did you decide who you were going to interview?

Barcroft: A main part of [how] I decided was through books I've read, where a woman wrote about a specific topic that I found really interesting and would fit well in the book. And then, like I said before, from stories that I've known about, or women’s stories [that] I’ve seen online.

I also did research to find a lot of different people. When I was first writing and figuring out who to reach out to, I created categories like science, medicine, human rights advocates. I started brainstorming people who I thought might be interested and went from there.

What was the interviewing process like, and how did you get into contact with all the women?

Barcroft: Most of the women had emails online, so I could just reach out via email and with a letter talking about the book and why I thought it would be useful if they wanted to be interviewed.

In terms of the interviewing process, I mainly did the interviews over Zoom. I didn't really ever write a specific list of questions I was going to ask before. I wanted it to be more like a conversation so it felt more open and they wouldn’t be pigeonholed in one direction on what to say. I would introduce myself and say, “We're gonna just chat about a challenge you had, and then how you overcame it.” They would talk for a bit, and I would maybe steer the conversation further, but I wanted it to be as open as possible. I really wanted it to be about them.

Which interview(s) were most meaningful to you personally?

Barcroft: I think one that always sticks with me is my interview with the Napalm Girl [Kim Phuc Phan Thi]—the girl from the Vietnam War—because I would ask one question, and she’d just like talk and process her emotions for ten minutes, which was really good because, when I was actually transcribing it, it was really interesting. I looked back on it and was like, “Wow she really went through it all in her mind, and I saw her thought process.” That one specifically was really meaningful.

Also, there was one with Dr. Gladys [Kalema-Zikusoka], who is a veterinarian in Uganda. I thought that one was also really interesting, especially [regarding] climate change. It felt very relevant. I think interviewing people internationally was also interesting; I didn't want it to just be a book revolving around issues in the U.S.

What was the biggest challenge you faced during this project?

Barcroft: I think the biggest challenge was that, initially, when I was first starting to write, I was going to just have the interviews, and I wasn't entirely sure on how I would insert my voice into it. I didn't want my voice to overpower it, but I also did want to give some input. Since I was the one interviewing and processing these things, giving people insight into why I actually wanted to interview this person—why I thought it would make for a good book—was important. Initially, not knowing how I was going to do that was a little stressful, but then I was able to do the sections in the book like why I wanted to interview this person, what I learned from it, and a bio. I think that was just the right amount of writing to put my voice into it without making it about me.

What was the most rewarding part of this process?

Barcroft: Being able to interview prominent women itself was really rewarding. The fact that they were willing to put their trust into me made me more confident in my own interviewing skills and my ability to piece together stories, figure out what might be interesting to the public, and spread awareness around certain issues.

What have you experienced that inspired you to write the book?

Barcroft: My mom is a sexual harassment attorney. I think law itself is an interesting career—seeing actually how women are disproportionately disadvantaged in the workplace and how it can be hard to get ahead, or they're treated unfairly based on their gender. I think [those issues] have always been prevalent, since I was growing up with my mom who does that kind of work. That definitely inspired me.

Besides that, in my English classes we’ve talked a lot about the ideas of fate and free will and war and oppression. This year we're talking more about race in America and how that affects our systems while moving into gender discussions. I think that being able to contribute valuably to class discussions and being able to have my teachers helping to improve my writing has been really helpful in influencing my passion for writing.

What are some of the best pieces of advice you learned from these women?

Barcroft: I think the best pieces of advice were that, if you do face a struggle, it’s what you make of it that’s the most impactful thing: They were able to bounce back despite [everything]. Most of them use their struggle to either, say, write a memoir, become an advocate, or talk to others facing the same struggle. I think that is a really important theme for anyone, especially in my own life. I started thinking, if I do face a certain struggle, will I just be upset about it and not really do anything about it and just wallow? Or, will I take it and use it to help others, inspire others, and be open about it and willing to share more about the specific struggle?

Were there any surprises while working on this project?

Barcroft: I would say the biggest surprises were probably when women would agree to interview. If I reached out to someone and they actually got back and were interested—that was surprising. As someone who is still in high school, it’s always something that feels rewarding. It makes you more confident in the process, that someone's willing to allow you to have an interview with them, someone who's very prominent and wants to be a part of the project.

What does the future have in store for you?

Barcroft: I definitely want to write another book in the future. I don't really know on what yet, but I want to figure that out when I go to college. I'm thinking of either majoring in English or Journalism and maybe doing a double major with English and another subject like science or business. I've learned that writing [often] develops once you have a lot of knowledge on a specific topic. So if I was able to major in one thing and improve my writing skills in the midst of it, I feel like that would be beneficial. I love interviewing. I love current events. I love piecing together stories from the public and also diving into other topics that I could potentially write about in the future. I think these would be my main goals in college.

What do you hope others will get out of this book?

Barcroft: The main takeaway would be that when women, and people in general, encounter struggles, they shouldn't isolate. They shouldn't feel alone in their struggles. As a society, we need to be more open when talking about what we go through; we don't always need to present a perfect image of ourselves. I think we need to be able to have open conversations and not leave things hidden within ourselves. I also want to spread awareness about certain struggles and help people understand that we're not alone in encountering struggles no matter what part of our life we’re in, which is shown through these successful women going through a struggle and then becoming who they are today.

Ashley Barcroft’s new book, The Challenges We Faced, The Women We Became, is available for order now.