“I Think Hope Coexists with Pain and Trauma.” Questioning Patricia McCormick About Sold, Child Trafficking, and Sexual Violence

This conversation with Patricia McCormick discusses her critically acclaimed novel Sold (2006), which follows a thirteen-year-old girl trafficked into the sex trade from Nepal to India. Patricia McCormick is an American journalist, writer of crime and realistic fiction, and winner of several awards. McCormick exposes the dark world of sex trafficking using her first-hand experiences with victims and survivors with her journalistic knowledge. This interview, conducted in September 2024, explores McCormick’s narrative techniques, her approach to depicting the trauma of sexual violence, memory as a healing component, and the ethical dilemmas she navigates in writing about sensitive topics. It reveals insights into McCormick’s background research and creative process, and the challenges in striking a balance between the brutal realities of sex trafficking and the need to offer hope. The paper addresses the gaps in existing research by providing first-hand insights into the author’s approach, thereby offering a viewpoint on the nexus of literature, the experience of sexual violence, and social justice, highlighting how Sold contributes to contemporary discourses about the representation of trauma in literature. In summation, the conversation speaks to the relevance of Sold in literary, societal, and cultural contexts, highlighting its role in raising awareness and fostering empathy among young adult readers.