murder.booklocker.com

Last night I was the guest of radio show host Dr. Niama Willams. At first it sounded easy enough - call the station, they conference me in and we talk. Unfortunately, there was a typo in the number they gave me to call, the station manager was late (which meant I had to call back later) and …

Well, once we got it together it was okay. The show was scheduled from 8-9 p.m. Eastern BUT because of the delay we ran over - all the way to 9:30! That’s how I spent the evening - talking about myself, about PARK RIDGE (my novel). Oh! And I read. Two pieces. One called “Bearing Witness” which strings together real life incidents that I witnessed interpersed with personal memories. The second was a short fictional story called “Flight” about a wintery morning “L” ride. 

Dr. Ni has a doctorate in literature so it was a bit of kick to have my work analyzed on air. Folks from Chicago should get a chuckle when I say that she wondered what secret message I was trying to convey by saying that the train tracks were “squeezed between the in-bound and out-going lanes of the expressway” or my use of “Eden.” I don’t think she believed me a bit when I insisted the Edens Expressway was the real name and that I had no hidden intent!

She was lavish in her praise - both on the air and in email:

“Bearing Witness” is an excellent piece of writing, and I think what I love best about it is your listing of the choices when one has been victimized as a young person:  1) become an abuser, 2) continue as a victim, 3) I haven’t figured that one out yet ….

3 is such a brilliant move as an essayist because it represents a journey that many survivors must and often do go through.  One cannot avoid, if one is at all a conscious, aware human being and survivor, confrontation of that question. 

Too many of us stand aside when witnessing the kind of behavior that you describe in the essay, and I for one have stood aside, helpless and angry:  helpless because I don’t want someone to pull out a gun and hurt me and angry because my fear forces me into powerlessness. 

I’ll let you know when the podcast is available.