NONFICTION SELF-INTERVIEWS
Doreen Orion: The TNB Self-InterviewBOULDER, CO 24 November 2009 |
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Describe a typical day.
I usually wake up at the crack of 9. Then, I check email, pick up phone messages, make a few calls and do some cases for my insurance review work. By then, it’s after 11 and time to get out of bed. No wonder my husband has often observed that I’m the only able-bodied person he knows in danger of developing bed sores.
When do you write?
Whenever I can. Sometimes, a little here and there throughout the day, sometimes not for days or a week at a time.
Really? Most serious writers have a set block of time – usually several hours a day – that’s sacrosanct. No matter what, they force themselves to-–
What are you, my mother?
Your memoir, Queen of the Road, feels so immediate--
Why, thank you.
Ah… you wrote the question.
Oh. Right.
Anyway, how were you able to remember so much detail and dialogue from your trip?
I knew before we even left Colorado that I wanted to write a memoir of our year on the road. So, I took a lot of notes---whether about conversations Tim and I had, or from places we’d visit. Once, one of the tour guides even demanded to know, “Do I need a lawyer?”
Psychiatrists aren’t supposed to talk about themselves. What was it like for you to disclose so much?
What do you think it was like for me?
Well, I-I…
Verrrrrry interesting. However, I’m off-duty, so let’s get back to your question.
It wasn’t easy. But, I really, really wanted to write this book - even if no one else ever read it. And, if someone actually did, I wanted to share how life-changing the experience was. That’s why I dedicated Queen of the Road to anyone searching for his or her inner bus. It doesn't have to be as dramatic as taking a whole year off; we all have some "other thing" to experience, to shake up our lives, and help us focus on what's important.
So many of us work hard for so many years, wake up one day and ask, “Is this all there is?” Tim and I hadn’t realized how routine our lives had become – lacking a certain spark. We actually ended up being grateful for all the disasters we experienced on the trip (fire, flood armed robbery, my developing a bus phobia and finding ourselves in a nudist RV park, to name just a few), because ultimately, they taught us the importance of stretching and challenging ourselves, as well as helped us get our priorities in order.
There are a lot of memoirs about some terrible catalyst that forces the author to change his or her life. Our case was different because we volunteered for this experience. (Fine. If you insist on getting technical, I had to be dragged kicking and screaming. Geez.) It doesn’t have to take a tragedy to change our lives. Tim and I are living proof that we don't have to wait. We can make the choice NOW to live our best lives.
Another important lesson we learned is that all that really matters is to be with the people you love. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Yet, that’s not how most of us spend our time. And, while it’s true that in traveling around the country we met incredibly diverse and unique people, we also found we all have one thing in common: Wanting to love and be loved.
The “bus thing” taught us how crucial it is to downsize and simplify our lives so that we don’t end up supporting a lifestyle filled with things instead of people. And, that… GULP… even includes shoes.
So, with all that went into the book, how did you decide what to put where? Did you have an outline?
Do you really think a woman who stays in her pajamas all day outlines?
I see your point. If your book gets optioned, who would you want to play you in the movie?
Uh, you’ve seen my picture, so I really don’t understand why you have to ask that question. Angelina Jolie, of course! Since she seems to have a lot on her hands these days, I’d be fine with Courtney Cox---although she’d have to lose some weight, first.
Since you’re a psychiatrist, have you been analyzing me this whole time?
Why? Do you think if I were a proctologist I’d want to look up your butt?
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You are too funny.
And no outline? Really? I stand in awe.
My husband stands in awe, too - of my laziness.
So when you did get the chance to write portions of the book, were there long blocks of typing and note-throwing and caffeine-drinking and recorder-rewinding? Or were you doing more sprinting than long distance?
I’ll take my answer off the air.
Okay, who tracked all this shit into the living room? I told you the last time that I was going to take whoever’s face… what? Ah, shoot. *click*
Wait, wait.
Nudist RV park?