Exploring Fiction’s What Ifs: A Conversation with Karen Rosenbaum

In this episode of Dialogue Out Loud, former Dialogue fiction editor Karen Rosenbaum joins us to discuss her short story Subjunctive Clauses, featured in the Winter 2024 issue of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Through a thoughtful conversation, Rosenbaum reflects on how fiction allows us to explore the “what ifs” of life—those alternate paths and unspoken questions that shape our experiences and identities.

Subjunctive Clauses follows Laurie, a teacher caught between the demands of the present and the ghosts of her past. As she copes with her father’s illness and her mother’s steadfast faith, Laurie reflects on lost possibilities and the emotional pull of former relationships. Through Laurie’s journey, Rosenbaum captures the nuanced tensions of middle age—where faith, love, and regret intertwine.

In this interview, Rosenbaum shares insights into her writing process, her long-standing relationship with Dialogue, and how her fiction continues to explore the complexities of Latter-day Saint life. With a career spanning decades and work published in Dialogue, Sunstone, Exponent II, and more, Rosenbaum reflects on the power of storytelling to capture the emotional and spiritual questions we all face.

Join us for a compelling conversation on how fiction helps us imagine the lives we might have lived—and the meaning we find in the lives we do.

Explore more of Karen Rosenbaum’s work in her short story collection Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Wives (2016).