I Truly Lament … Author interview

A few words from Matt Freese, whose book I enjoyed a lot. I’ve also enjoyed the banter I’ve shared about the holocaust, his writing, and various other things. Enjoy…

BM: The role of fantasy and fairy tale as a tool for the human mind to process trauma… is the mind trying to pass it off as unreal and distant?

MF: I imagine fantasy is useful for the reader in that it provides a psychological distancing, safer that way, more digestible. If I can have the reader grasp or understand the humorous and not so humorous workings of a golem, his concerns as the protector of Jews, of being a monster and a grim reaper as well, I then can have him mirror back all kinds of reflections (pun intended) about the people who have called upon him for help. In “The Disenchanted Golem” I raise more questions than I could ever answer, but it is in the questioning that I can deepen if not enrich the tale I am writing. When Kafka begins his short story with a young adult who turns into a bug, we are off and running. One of Freud’s great teachings is how the human mind makes use of fantasy for all kinds of conscious and unconscious purposes. I have no significant attachment to golems, but the concept intrigued me for the purposes of my own story telling, especially when one Jew finds that the golem is really useless and all that counts is his own existential self – as it should be.

The golem is a vast projection of a persecuted people, a people that historically have been quite rational in their approach to life and living and yet they, too, collapse into a mystical belief. An unremitting and historical condemnation will do that to you. The story goes of three men of differing religious backgrounds, one of whom is Jewish, who visit a doctor and each is told that his condition is terminal. One man breaks down and says he will go back to the old country to live out his last days. The second man leaves the office and runs purposefully in front of a bus and is killed. The Jew is left. And the Jew, hearing his fate, says “I’d like to see another doctor.” Alas, reason goes so far as some of my stories depict. I was intrigued as a writer in playing the role of the golem. It tested my imagination and my skills. When I write, I leave spoor and I leave it up to the reader to follow this or that trail. I am not that anal that I know exactly what each ”dropping” means. I like to leave the reader and myself guessing. I have found that this approach gives dividends to me as a story teller and perhaps to the reader who doesn’t need everything spelled out.

Consequently the golem is a projection and as we know we place all kinds of stuff on others as we project. On one level, all stories are Rorschach tests.

BM: A little bit of background to your life and inspiration for writing about the Holocaust.

MF: I am a product of lower middle class parents who just managed to get by; I lived in housing projects; I had toys and clean clothing and ate well. I didn’t know we were far from well-to-do. I was a reader as a child, passive, inert, non-assertive, introverted and shy. High school was a horror; I didn’t wake up until the age of 32. I had a few anti-Semitic experiences growing up and I had an acute awareness of being Jewish and very proud of the heritage. Like Freud, I am a godless Jew but fully aware that if you forget you are a Jew, the world will quickly remind you of that. Reading about the Holocaust and Jewish history in general made me ask questions. It was decades later I sat down and began to write what it must have been like in one of the camps. It took decades for the book to write itself and so when I began to write I did not have to stop. It was channeled. Imagination, fantasy, anger, rage and resentment flowed. I counted on my unconscious to guide me, it always does.

BM: Do you research using conventional ways? Past records of events etc., or do you pick an incident and revolve the fiction around it?

MF: I look up words or terms as I go by. I stay away from non-fiction accounts because I have imbibed enough to know what I want to portray in fictional terms. If I want to know what a blochfuher is, that’s readily available. To the point, I research me. I am the source.

BM: Folklore and the Holocaust? Where did that come from?

MF: I happened upon it, it is in my background. I did not read extensively about golems, for that is not my way. I dip my writer’s pen into the inkwell and then go on. After all, there are only three golem stories in the book and their purposes vary. The Disenchanted Golem, an editor has said, really sums up the entire book. You look at that, make of it what you will.

BM: What are you hoping readers will take away from this book?

MF: I haven’t the slightest idea. It is true that after you write a book it is no longer yours and that goes a long way to say that is why there are hundreds of acting interpretations of Hamlet. Sam Goldwyn had a telling line when asked about his most recent movie’s theme: “If you want a message, send for Western Union.” After all, what we take away from a book may be fleeting, passing or a sensibility. I am not teaching. I am exploring. Come excavate with me, if you choose.

BM: What further writing projects are you working on or planning to work on?

MF: I am working on a memoir of two summers, 68 and 69, I spent in Woodstock and the long range impact it has had on me to this day.

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Other blogs participating:

Jan. 16 – Mathias @ Mathias B. Freese: A Writer’s Blog

Jan. 20 – Fran @ Just Reviews

Jan. 21 – Bobbie @ Nurture Your BOOKS™

Jan. 23 – Mathias @ Mathias B. Freese: A Writer’s Blog

Feb. 3 – Rachel @ Leather Bound Pounds

I’m sure they will all be good reads.

Link to the Author’s website: http://www.mathiasbfreese.com/

See you around! And here’s a gorgeous picture from just now

I Truly Lament … Blog Tour

I am going to be participating in a blog tour and hosting a few things this upcoming week. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I hope to see you readers around this space. Other bloggers are participating as well, and if you are interested, here is a list:

Jan. 12 – Bobbie @ Nurture Your BOOKS™

Jan. 13 – A.E. @ A.E. Albert: A Writer’s Blog

Jan. 14 – Jaidis @ Juniper Grove

Jan. 16 – Mathias @ Mathias B. Freese: A Writer’s Blog

Jan. 20 – Fran @ Just Reviews

Jan. 21 – Bobbie @ Nurture Your BOOKS™

Jan. 23 – Mathias @ Mathias B. Freese: A Writer’s Blog

Feb. 3 – Rachel @ Leather Bound Pounds

I’m sure they will all be good reads.

Link to the Author’s website: http://www.mathiasbfreese.com/

See you around! And here’s a gorgeous picture from just now

BookMark talks to Tanya Peterson (My Life in a Nutshell) Part 2

Without much waffle, here is Tanya, answering some of my burning questions!

BM: Brian and Abigail have faced very different kind of trauma; but how come the manifestations are the same?

 

 

TP: This is tricky to answer (unless you want a lengthy paper or even a non-fiction book, but I don’t think anyone wants that!). It’s tricky because it’s complex, and it’s tricky because nothing regarding human psychology and behavior is black-and-white. I’ll try to address it in a nutshell.

While the manifestations aren’t quite the same (Brian has panic attacks, extreme worries, and an automatic impulse to hide from the world, while Abigail has tantrums and alternating withdrawal and developmentally inappropriate attachment patterns), both of them are responding to the world from a mindset of fear and a lack of knowing what else to do (because neither of them was ever taught how to live in the world.) Generally speaking, all people respond to stressors by internalizing (turning the stressor inside) or by externalizing (acting out). Everyone does both, but some do one more than the other. That’s why you see Brian’s panic attacks and Abigail’s tantrums. They’re different, but similar, ways of responding to anxiety and triggers. These are externalizing behaviors. They have similarities because they’re human. But there are differences because each individual human is unique. (For example, Brian has, among other things, generalized anxiety disorder. That disorder (like all others) has defining features, but exactly how those features manifest is different for every single person who lives with GAD. This is why Brian and Abigail have both similarities and differences.

 

BM: Are you the patient or the counsellor? Whose character has drawn greater inspiration from your life?

 

TP: I’m both! I’m credentialed as a nationally certified counselor (US), and I’m also a patient. I have bipolar disorder and have dealt with anxiety issues as well. Brian definitely has drawn inspiration from my life. He’s not autobiographical in the least, but the anxieties I’ve dealt with made it natural to portray Brian. His thought processes are very similar to what my own have been!

 

BM: What’s next?

 

TP: I’m well into a novel about a character who has dissociative identity disorder. It’s about him as well as his family and a close friend. It’s the story of what DID is really like (as opposed to the way its portrayed in film) both for people who have it and for those in their lives. It’s really fun to write, but it’s a challenge. I can’t stop now because I’ve thoroughly bonded with the characters. I’ll face the challenge and (hopefully) do their story justice.

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Part 1 is here! I do think she is a brilliant writer and the research that went into her book shows.

Previously, as part of the Book’s Blog Tour, Trailer, Teaser, Review. Also, Leave of Absence

BookMark talks to Tanya Peterson (My Life in a Nutshell) Part 1

Without much waffle, here is Tanya, answering some of my burning questions!

BM: Describe where you are just now and the things around you; give us a peek into your life!

 

TP: At the moment I’m writing this, I’m sitting in my backyard. I’ve made myself comfortable in a low camping chair (that I really do use for camping), my computer is on my lap, an my bare feet are resting on the soft, freshly-mowed grass. I’m in the shade of a fairly large evergreen tree, so the temperature is ideal despite the 85-degree heat of the summer afternoon. I can see my flowers blooming: a variety of roses, a cluster of black-eyed susans just beginning to unfurl, my newly planted corner garden of lavender, daisies, dahlias, coreopsis, and more in tiny but vibrant bloom. It’s peaceful and inspiring. For optimal well-being, I need to spend time outdoors. I love writing outside!

 

BM: Let’s dive into the book then… When raising a child, how does a parent/teacher know if the child is just being a child and throwing tantrums or is dealing with more important issues?

 

TP: While of course every child is unique, with his/her own personality, there are defined stages that all experience at a given age. These stages include general ways of behaving and responding to the world. For example, a two-year-old who doesn’t have full command of her language can’t always express strong emotion verbally; thus, it’s natural for her to have tantrums. By the time that child has entered elementary school, she’s at a different developmental stage, has better command of language, can regulate her emotions more than she could at age two, etc. While an occasional outburst is still to be expected (depending on personality, some have more outbursts than others), if the tantrums are frequent and severe and there are other things going on (acting too clingy or dependent or too aloof or problems with social skills, for example), it’s a sign that there could be something more going on. The tantrums are a symptom of a problem rather than an age-appropriate behavior.

 

In the story, Abigail Harris can have a tantrum for very little reason (well, for very little reason as seen by an outsider. From her perspective, the tantrums have a definite reason.) Her tantrums are severe, and they can be long lasting or stop abruptly. Her behavior switches from dependent to independent and back again. (I won’t say more to avoid spoiling things!). These are not typical seven-year-old behaviors. For reasons I won’t say, she has an attachment disorder that accounts for her behavior.

 

Basically, parents and teachers should consider how a child acts compared to other children of similar age. Look for patterns. What is the child doing that’s out of the norm? When does this happen? Knowing these things is a great starting point for helping the child.

BM: Can Brian’s condition be quantified by severity? Say, on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is his disorder?

 

TP: Definitely! One way of assessing mental illness in general is to consider how much it affects a person’s life and overall functioning. Can someone function well and just needs a bit of therapy or medication? Or are they completely incapacitated and in need of hospitalization? Or something in between?

 

Brian’s disorders are debilitating.  They’ve completely limited his life in almost every way imaginable. On a scale of one to ten, I would categorize him a nine. He’s not at a ten because he is living his life, albeit in a very restricted fashion. He can get to work, he has an activity he enjoys. But his anxiety chokes him to such a degree that he experiences panic attacks over nearly everything, including just the thought of some things. The poor man is miserable and feels powerless to get better.

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Stay tuned for Part 2! I do think she is a brilliant writer and the research that went into her book shows.

Previously, as part of the Book’s Blog Tour, Trailer, Teaser, Review. Also, Leave of Absence

The King’s Great Secret …a review

Have any of you watched the movie ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’?

It is a very good movie.

In a similar way, I loved this book by Julia L.A. Kelly. It is an insightful account of the life of Anna Boleyn, much loved, much wronged. The work is written in first person, which makes the joys tangible and the grief, palpable. Anna, a simple girl, like any other is catapulted to the throne as the
Queen of England (wife of King Henry VIII) during ‘a cruel, barbaric age where people were murdered in the streets for food, every man was clambering for power, and every woman treated as a nonperson’.
Along with a life of aristocracy came a life of ploys,  lies, and deceits. Wronged by her husband, cheated on by her friends, and stabbed in the back several times by her courtiers, this simple woman was blamed and framed throughout her life. Yet she forged on bravely. I love strong women, I am fascinated by them. People were malicious to her, slander was atrocious. Simple emotions of love and tenderness were portrayed as evil deeds and witchcraft! At one point in the book, there is a quote that I thoroughly believe in.

‘But Anna Boleyn … does not believe in forgiveness. I believe that it is better that people do no wrong in the first place than expect everyone to go around forgiving them after the deed is done, for if they do no wrong there would be no forgiveness needed. People should have no excuse for committing a crime.’  So true…
Following the coronation of her daughter, Elizabeth, as queen, Anna was venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation. Anna has been called ‘the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had’…

Another highlight of the book is the delightful number of men that feature in the book. Everyone from Nostradamus to da Vinci, to Shakespeare! So awesome to meet them as they were, men with pure passions for their arts 🙂
This book is a must read!

I received a complimentary copy of ‘The King’s Great Secret’ as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team. Please visit http://dorrance.stores.yahoo.net/ as well.