The Setting of Emotional Turbulence in Remember Me

Linda said...

In your book Remember Me, the character Mary Margaret goes through alot in her life, and I don't understand why she gives up in the end. It seems like she's smart, but she doesn't "get it." I just wanted to smack her and say, "wake up!"

Thanks for the great question, Linda.  During my own divorce in '95, I watched many families struggle with the family court system.  If people cannot agree, the cases go on and on, family resources are depleted, and when domestic violence is present, it is often exacerbated because the inept system is used as a weapon of abuse.  

In researching for the book, I spent a great deal of time interviewing family members in divorce and family court, and heard countless stories of suicide, hopelessness and despair.  I felt there was an important statement to be made, and that we can do better with our laws and in our courts for families in these situations. I also spent a great deal of time consulting with psychologists and therapists on the subject, and on how to develop a character that would eventually succumb to despair.  

While half way through my second novel, I was inspired to create a trilogy that would resurrect the Mary Margaret character from Remember Me, and redeem her.  I agree with you, she is smart and has many possibilities before her, but in Remember Me she also is trapped in a mindset of worthlessness that family violence reinforces for her.  It seems to me a slap would be just another slap to her, as it is to many men and women caught in the web of domestic abuse that our current societal norms and laws support by inadequate court action and looking the other way.

Your good question, Linda, leads me to one of my own.  At what point in our lives to we begin to examine and understand our emotions, what role they play in our lives, and how they enrich or limit us?

All About Living Is Next in Line

Nick said...

Do you have a date for publishing Shadow Dance? Waiting for that third novel of yours is not easy. Your fan, Nick

Thanks for the question, Nick.  My friend, Nick, and I have been mutual supporters since we were in college together.  It is true that my third novel is taking much longer than expected to publish.  This is because somewhere along the way, my blog readers encouraged me to publish my ideas in some form.  I have been working on this, and am on track to publish the first in a series of books called All About Living by the end of this year.  I settled on the format of Einsteins book "The World As I See It," first published in 1932 in the form that Einstein envisioned it.  It is a very simple compilation of his ideas on spirituality.  (In later editions the publishers took out pieces that Einstein felt important and replaced them with papers that they felt more important, losing the intent and flavor of the book.)

I thought about this wonderful book of Einstein's, and decided that in lieu of journals, diaries or letters, I would simply offer short presentations of my ideas in book form a few at a time, along with original drawings.  The first in the series will include my ideas on ethics, God, being, free will, forgiveness and several others.

I am at the same time writing Shadow Dancing, the third novel in my trilogy.  The novel will be written as a prose poem in the first person, a very different format than the other two.  I chose this form of expression to meet the character's challenges as she comes to fruition in her spiritual journey.  Because this stage includes non dual and more sublime states of consciousness that can be difficult to convey in words, I felt that poetry was my most effective tool.  I hope my readers agree.  This book will be published sometime next year.

Cover art by Vivian George.  Many thanks.