Judy Dushku is a political scientist, writer, and lifelong feminist activist. She is best known around here as one of the founding mothers of Exponent II.

After a 47-year career as a professor of comparative politics at Suffolk University—specializing in African politics and women’s studies—Judy continued her humanitarian work in Gulu, Uganda. In 2010, she founded THRIVE-Gulu, a woman-led nonprofit dedicated to helping survivors of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency and refugees from South Sudan heal from trauma, with a special focus on female survivors of violence. Now, at 83, she is publishing her debut novel, Is This The Way Home?—a powerful fictional account of one Ugandan woman and her family, offering a window into the struggles of thousands: war, abduction, marginalization, and the challenge of raising children born in the bush. Through her writing, she hopes to raise awareness of these survivors and inspire readers to seek their own paths to healing.

Judy sat down over Zoom with Katie Ludlow Rich to discuss the launch of her novel for the Exponent II blog. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Interview with debut novelist Judy Dushku:

Exponent: You had a long career as a professor at Suffolk University, and now you are launching your debut novel the month you turn 83! That’s so inspiring. What led you to try something this big?

Judy: As we near 80, most of us feel so bored with what is left for us and what is ahead of us that we are driven to do something unusual. Approaching 80, I was widowed, I was retired, I had stepped down as Stake Relief Society President, and there I was. It was this sense of, who are you, Judy? I was kind of floundering, but I felt like I still had something to offer the world, and I wanted it to help someone.

Exponent: Did you always want to write a novel?

Judy: No, it had never occurred to me. I wanted to honor the women I worked with in Northern Uganda [the survivors of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency and refugees from South Sudan]. I didn’t know if it would mean traveling there more, or fundraising more, or what, and then COVID happened. I began the novel before then, but with international travel not an option, I felt that I had stumbled upon the right choice to help draw attention to these women. Even after 20 years of fighting, leaders of international organizations said that the war in Northern Uganda was the most forgotten war in the world, and it really was forgotten. There were flashes of attention, like with the viral film “Kony 2012,” but then it was gone. I felt like, why isn’t the world not only taking a look at what people up there went through but what they’re now trying to accomplish, which is to come out of this horrible war and heal from the abuse and violence and really make something of their lives? How can people just ignore them?  

Kate Holbrook gave a talk at the Maxwell Institute about the weight of legacy. I called Kate up and asked, “Should I be writing about Ugandan women, or should I be writing just about my family and my ancestors who joined the church in Denmark?” Kate said, “You never know whose stories you are intended to celebrate and bring to life. Sometimes, we are called to be caretakers of other people’s legacies.” And I felt like it was a calling—which is not something I say very often—but I felt called to celebrate the women I know in Uganda. To shine a spotlight on them to help people gain an interest in listening to their stories and lives directly.

Exponent: What inspired the story you tell in Is This The Way Home?

Judy: The novel tells the story of a fictional character, Adong Agnes, who was abducted at age eleven, forced into “marriage” with rebel commanders, and escaped after fifteen years, but it is inspired by the real-life stories of women I know there. There are academic articles about the rebuilding that has taken place, but the stigma against the women who were in the bush with Kony and the LRA is tremendous. There is a Ugandan woman whose children I have supported through their education, and she is the same age as my own daughter, and over the years I’ve come to know the complicated intricacies of her healing journey. Westerners know the complications of their own lives, but too often, they think people in developing countries don’t have that same kind of personal complexity. It’s hard to capture a person’s full humanity in an academic article because you can’t speculate in an article. But in a novel, you can speculate about what someone was thinking, and you can show a more complete picture of the challenges and complexities of a person’s life.

Exponent: What do you want readers to take away from reading the novel?

Judy: I want everyone to know that healing from sexual violence, trauma, and war is very hard, but it is possible. And of course, the people who have been involved in these horrible experiences cannot wait for perfect conditions and a trained psychologist to rebuild and heal. There are women all over the world who need to rely on the help available to them—a neighbor, a friend, a doctor, a religious leader. You have to count on who is around you. I want to add to the effort to dispel the idea that help has to come from the West.

The other message is that African women’s lives not only matter, but that they are also complicated and real. I don’t want readers to assume that they have a simple life. Everyone’s life story is complicated and fraught, but people grow and can heal.

Exponent: When does the novel come out, and where can people order it?

Judy: Is This The Way Home? is being published by BCC Press in March 2025 and will be in both paperback and eBook formats. It is available for pre-order on Amazon and other online retailers like Barnes and Noble.

Save the date for book launch events:

Saturday, March 15, 2025 at the University of Utah is a one-day conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the book Mormon Sisters and the work of Claudia Bushman. Judy Dushku is among the speakers at the event, and copies of Is This The Way Home? will be there for sale by Benchmark Books. Register for free admission to the event. 

Tuesday, March 18, at 7 pm MT, join Judy at The Compass Galley in Provo, Utah, to celebrate the launch of her debut novel with an author discussion and book singing.

Thursday, March 20, at 7 pm MT, join Signature Books and Exponent II in celebrating Women’s History Month at Signature Books’ office in Salt Lake City. Fifty Years of Exponent II authors Katie Ludlow Rich and Heather Sundahl will talk with Exponent II founding mother Judy Dushku about her decades with Exponent II, her global feminist activism, and her humanitarian work in Uganda that inspired her novel, Is This The Way Home?

Sunday, April 6, 3 pm ET, book launch and discussion at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, Massachusetts. The event will be held in the Amalie M. Hecht Kass Rehearsal Hall, 3rd floor.

Monday, April 14, at 6 pm MT / 8 pm ET, join Judy for a virtual book launch event on Zoom. Free registration.