How did you approach writing about race, gender, and family in a historical setting without relying on stereotypes?
I drew from memory, without any conscious effort to avoid stereotypes. My years of psychoanalysis and therapy ensured that for me there is no such thing as a stereotype. I never simplify race or gender, and I always recognize deeply that there are vast areas I cannot fathom in another race or culture. We are complex.
Was there a scene or character that made you uncomfortable to write, and did you ever consider leaving it out?
Yes. A lynching scene. I took it out of the novel, and my partner Elaine insisted I put it back—a tough scene to deal with.
What do you think is more damaging: the secrets we keep from others, or the ones we keep from ourselves?
The secrets we keep from ourselves are frightening and fester. When you recover the memory of the secret, you can look at it, and it loses its power.
If Paul could alter one moment in his life, which would he choose and why?
I believe he would take back the moment when he received the address of the doctor who would give him the heroin he became addicted to. Why?
Because he might have received proper treatment for his diabetes in time – this story is in my upcoming second novel, Deep White Pockets.
What’s the most radical act of love depicted in the book?
When Paul realized that the momma in him, the golden thread between Paul and Jane happened when she was a newborn and he was her young carer. Their eyes met, leaving an imprint that would last forever.
What role does silence play in the relationships throughout the novel, and how does it shape the characters’ destinies?
This is a superb question. The silences reveal reflection, quiet appraisal, quiet approval. Paul’s silence with Terry Weaver: he enjoyed seeing his white tormentor sweat for a minute or two, carrying those heavy garden pots. Paul dominates that scene. Silences in this novel represent lines drawn: what you can safely say and what you can’t. And unbearable suffering when words fail.
How do you hope readers from different backgrounds interpret the unconventional family at the heart of your novel?
With recognition, with love, I hope they gain a new perspective on human behavior.
If you could ask Paul one question today, what would it be?
Tell me how you really feel, living in those deep white pockets?