Hi Tom — I leave out quite a bit! All the boring parts and stuff that doesn’t further what I see as “the story.” So even though I encountered a few external dangers and a few kindnesses while hitchhiking back to Boston, they didn’t make it into the book because they weren’t about the internal journey of escaping my history of violence.

What motivates memoirists probably varies. For me, it has been about bringing secrets into the light. There are no dark secrets if we don’t keep them in the dark.

In my current manuscript, I want to spread my love for my family. Many of them have been demonized by our broader culture for drug addiction, mental illness, felony convictions, poverty. I want to make their lives real to readers. I want to smash the stereotypes.

Thanks for your question, Tom. It might turn into my next post!