Q – What is the most common question you get regarding this book?
A – Is it true?
Q – Is it?
A – To the best of my recollection. It is a well-known fact that memories are faulty at best, and capricious to downright deceiving at worst. To forestall arguments with my siblings and those who were still alive to recall the family saga, I referenced Judy Blunt’s “Acknowledgments” in her book Breaking Clean.
“And finally, I want to acknowledge those who might choose a different version of the story than the one I tell. In sharing stories with others who were there, we discover how inevitably each perspective offers its own, sure version of events. I’ve long since made my peace with that variety of fiction we call truth.”
Q – It has been established that many memoirists have omitted portions of their stories and perhaps some have embellished. How would you characterize your account?
A – I took the advice of an IP professional and deleted some sentences from the original manuscript. As for enlarging on the story, absolutely not. Some of my siblings, some close relatives, and even one of my mother’s life-long friends who is in the book, read it. I have no qualms with stating there is not one embellishment; the story simply needs none.
Q – Do you have a relationship with any of your siblings today?
A – No.
Q – Will you ever write about your family during the years after Black Raspberries ends?
A – I hear that question from many readers. The answer is, No. While we were all young, the family story and events that I related belonged to us all. In some sense, the real story began where Black Raspberries ended, and it would fill another book. But it is not mine to tell.