Charlottesville writer Elizabeth Becker is a novelist and a mother of four young children. Her debut novel, The Moonlight Healers, is the August 2026 pick for CharlottesvilleFamily’s Moms Lit Society Book Club.
We’re so excited to meet Elizabeth and discuss her magical, emotional story of mothers and daughters across three generations. This week, she agreed to share a behind-the-scenes look at what her daily life is like as she balances writing and parenting (and even a little Bravo TV).
Take it away, Elizabeth!
What Do You Imagine When You Picture the Writing Life?
a guest essay by Elizabeth Becker
There is a kind of romance associated with being a novelist. Maybe you think of sun-streaked offices filled with elegant desks and tidy inspiration boards. Or serene retreats to remote cabins-days upon days of dedicated writing time in a pastoral setting.
There might be some novelists whose work lives resemble the fantasy, who pull off Hemingway-esque writing jags late into the night or who follow a rigorous, exacting daily schedule. But most writers, myself included, have day jobs. Or families. Or both.
Which means, to put it simply, we write when we can, however we can. On planes, trains and automobiles. While our children nap and while our children watch TV. In the rare, brief moments we have any kind of quiet.
A Day in the Life of Local Charlottesville Writer Elizabeth Becker
In the spirit of full transparency, and to offer a little peek behind the curtain of a novelist and mom of four, here’s what my day generally looks like when I am actively drafting or editing a novel.
A Hectic Morning
5:00 am: Alarm goes off so that I can have two hours of writing time before we leave for the bus stop.
5:30 am: I finally stop snoozing, stumble into the kitchen, make myself a cup of coffee, and sit down at my laptop on a couch that is covered in stuffed animals, baby dolls, and crumbs.
5:30–6:00 am: Warm up writing, most of which will be deleted. But finally, as the caffeine hits, I find my groove and start writing halfway decent, usable prose until…
6:03 am: One of my children is awake and demanding to be fed. Mostly because they have a sixth sense for when I am downstairs in a quiet house trying to be productive.
6:30–9:00 am: Kid grand central station. Lunches are packed. Water bottles are filled. Everyone somehow manages to get out the door with shoes on and halfway brushed hair.
9:00 am: Preschool drop off for my youngest. And finally, for the next three hours, FREEDOM.
Time to Work
9:15 am: Drive to my office. Which is easy to do because my office is frequently my toy and French fry-cluttered minivan. Typically, I find a nice quiet parking space with a lot of shade, and hope no one thinks I am a lurker.
If it’s particularly hot or cold out, or I need to charge my laptop, I occasionally will write at my local gym or a coffee shop. The Mudhouse Coffee near our preschool has exceptional scones. Plus, the baristas make little whimsical shapes in the foam on the lattes, which I appreciate.
9:15–11:45 am: The bulk of my daily writing takes place in this window. I do not have the luxury of procrastination, which has helped enormously with my focus. This is my time, and I use every second of it.
Family Time
12:00 pm–8:00 pm: Kid centric time. To be honest, very little writing happens in this segment of my day. If I do work, it is emails, blogs/articles, or social media posts, done in little sprints when the 3-year-old is occupied and the older kids are miraculously playing together upstairs. It never lasts long. Even if I were to hide in our guest room and turn all the lights off (hypothetically), my children always track me down. And demand to be fed.
8:00 pm: If I were a Hemingway-esque writer, this is when I would get most of my work done, in the twilight hours of darkness while my kids sleep. But I’m a middle-aged mother of four children. By this point, I’m usually so exhausted that I collapse on the couch to watch Bravo in a nearly catatonic state
And then the next morning, I wake up and do it all over again: be a mom and a writer, both of which, while often exhausting, are also the very best parts of my life.
Meet Elizabeth Becker at the Moms Lit Society Book Club
Join CharlottesvilleFamily and Elizabeth Becker at the August meeting of the Moms Lit Society! This Charlottesville book club meets quarterly to celebrate Virginia writers and build community for local parents.
All are welcome to join, though you should be prepared for some spoilers if you haven’t read the book! Parking is free in the Dairy Market parking lot.
What: Moms Lit Society Book Club, hosted by CharlottesvilleFamily
When: Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026 • 6:30 pm until we’re done talking!
Where: Starr Hill Brewery Dairy Market, 946 Grady Ave., Charlottesville
Where Can I Get a Copy of the Moms Lit Society Book Club Books?
You can find The Moonlight Healers anywhere books are sold. We recommend:
- Local bookstores like Bluebird & Co.
- Online through Bookshop.org, which also has e-books available
- At your local JMRL branch
You can also purchase a copy at book club! Booksellers from Bluebird & Co. will be on hand with copies of The Moonlight Healers, as well as the other 2026-2027 book club selections.
We can’t wait to see you there!
Find out more about the Moms Lit Society book club, including upcoming selections and previous reads. Need more books in your life? Browse our guides to Cville book shops, local children’s book authors, and popular storytimes. Or, learn more about two of our favorite Charlottesville book events, the Crozet Book Fest and Virginia Festival of the Book.
Want to make sure you don’t miss the next book club meeting? Sign up for the CharlottesvilleFamily newsletter so you’ll always know what’s coming up. And be sure to support the local partners who help make our Charlottesville events possible.
ELIZABETH JEWETT BECKER is an award-winning essayist, author, and former pediatric nurse. Her debut novel The Moonlight Healers was published in February 2025. Her Pushcart Prize–nominated essay, “Report”, was awarded the 2018 Crazyhorse Prize in Nonfiction, and she was also a nonfiction finalist for the Missouri Review’s Jeffrey E. Smith Editor’s Prize in 2019. Her work has appeared on national sites including Oprah Daily, Motherwell, Scary Mommy, Motherly, and Mothers Always Write.
Elizabeth received a degree in Creative Writing from the College of Charleston before earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband and four young children. Her second novel, Saltwater Cowboys, will be published in June 2027 and is available for preorder now. You can learn more on her website, elizabethbeckerbooks.com.