Posted by Kathleen Pooler/@kathypooler with Karen Levy/@Homeboundpub

 

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” George Moore

 

I am very pleased to feature Memoir Author Karen Levy in this guest interview about finding peace through memoir writing. Karen and I met when her publisher at Homebound Publications, Leslie Browning contacted me to do a review of her newly released memoir, My Father’s Gardens.

When I finished reading her memoir, the main thought that surfaced was how memoir writing can help one find peace. My Father’s Gardens is a story of a young girl who comes of age in two languages, and on two shores, between warring parents and rules that change depending on the landscape and the proximity to her mother. It is a gripping story of heartache, conflict and ultimate transformation. My reviews can be found on Amazon and Goodreads.

Welcome , Karen!

 

 

KP: You have a very compelling story, Karen, of moving between Israel and America every few years while you were growing up, based upon your mother’s whims. When did you decide to write about it? What was it like for you to resurrect painful memories?

 

KL: The moving was due partially to whim and partially to my father’s work, but my mother suffered bouts of nostalgia that pulled us away from America when she missed Israel and towards America when she tired of Israel. Leaving was always accompanied by heartache, and it was frequent enough to become a familiar, somewhat exciting but also dreaded emotion. At the same time, that gypsy life became second nature, so staying in one location for lengthy periods of time while appealing, was also unfamiliar and when it became quite obvious that America had become permanent, once I married and had children here, there was a restlessness that I needed to handle in some way. And writing about it allowed me to travel great distances in my mind and on paper and give voice to emotions I was uncomfortable or incapable of expressing out loud. So while painful, it was also a release.

 

KP:  Did you keep a journal when you were younger?  If not, how were you able to resurrect so many memories in such vivid detail?

 

KL: I had a few diaries which I was very excited to go through once I decided to write, since I thought they would be a treasure trove of information. Yet they were quite disappointing and probably one of the dullest reads a teenage diary has ever afforded. They seemed to be more an account of daily activities instead of thoughts and emotions, they switched languages and started and stopped whenever we moved. And I believe that at some point I had the notion that my mother was reading them, so that may very well be why they contain absolutely nothing that reveals what I was actually doing or thinking beyond the very superficial. In other words, they were pretty useless sources of information. So I began to ask questions of anyone who was willing to dredge up the past, of which few people were. Fortunately I recall scents and textures and sounds quite vividly. I seem to embed places in my mind, how Jerusalem stone feels beneath my fingers, what an Israeli morning sounds like, how a California summer evening smells. I inhale locations.

 

KP: Your unique voice comes through and your writing has a lyrical tone to it. How did you find your voice?

 

KL: I’d like to think that it found me. I stopped trying to be someone else and allowed myself to be nothing other than who I am. The writing, like me, speaks its mind in as honest a way as it can, and I realized  that I appreciated other writers who took risks and spoke from the heart. It feels more satisfying to read and write that kind of voice.

 

KP:  You structured your memoir as a series of vignettes, very effectively I will add. How did you decide on this structure?

 

KL: I came across this style of writing in Sandra Cisneros’ book, The House on Mango Street, and I remember thinking to myself that I could do that, unlike full-fledged novels that seemed, and still do, like a daunting challenge to take on. Writing in what I like to think as snapshots, gives the overall effect of looking through a photo album at someone’s life, and listening to a story that is attached to each picture. Part of me also thought that it would be easier that way, soon to find out that getting the conclusion just right for each vignette was not as simple as it seemed.

 

KP:  What is the main message you want to convey in your memoir?

 

KL:  My quest has always been to find home, to find a place where I belong, and through this writing and from experience, I discovered that home can be found in more than one place, and among certain people, as well. For the longest time I thought I had to make a choice but it doesn’t work that way. Both countries have made me feel at home in different ways. This desire is not mine alone. I believe many of us need to know when and how we will be able to tell that we’ve arrived where we belong.

 

KP: You take us on a journey of self-discovery and ultimately to a point where you have reconciled the conflicts of your past. Did writing this memoir help you find that sense of peace?

 

KL: I believe it has to a certain extent. Because of this duality that has always been part of my life, there will forever be an underlying restlessness. My heart and mind are always in two different places at the same time, but overall, that discovery that I didn’t need to choose between them, that I could love both, was a relief. And writing about it all certainly allowed me to figure it out by forcing my hand in a sense, to examine so many pieces of my life.

 

KP: Do you have any memoir writing tips you’d like to share with us?

 

KL: Try to find a theme around which the information will revolve, otherwise you might feel as if you need to tell your audience everything, and that isn’t necessary. Be as honest and authentic as you can. Be yourself. If writing comes from the heart it will reach an audience.

 

 

 

My Father’s Gardens can be ordered from Amazon or Homebound Publications

 

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Author’s Bio:

Karen Levy is an Israeli-American writer. Born in Israel, Levy spent most of her childhood traveling between her native land and the United States. Commuting between these two countries and having a keen eye for detail have afforded Levy the knowledge necessary to recount the immigrant experience in a very candid style. Following her military service, Levy pursued her studies in the United States where she earned a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of California at Davis, and an M.A. in English/Creative Writing from Sacramento State University where she teaches composition and interpretation of literature.  Her work has appeared in Welter Magazine, So to Speak, the Blue Moon and The Meadow. She lives in Davis, California with her husband and two children.

 

 

How about you? Has writing helped you to find peace?

 

Karen has graciously agreed to give a way a copy of her memoir to a commenter whose name will be selected in a random drawing

 

We’d love to hear from you. Please leave your comments or questions below~

 

 

Next Week:  “The Role of Faith in Finding Freedom From Domestic Abuse: An Interview”