Though many readers have asked for a sequel to Confessions—they want to know what happens to Joan and her family—and I love that interest and idea, it’s a tough task. I actually wrote a second book several years ago which I consider a failure– for several reasons; the first is that I could not hear the voice of the adult Joan as I heard Joan the girl; that resulted in what I consider a somewhat flat retelling.  Given that voice is the most vital element in a successful piece of writing, that’s a problem. It’s voice that we become engaged with and care about—without it writing/characters never really come/s to life. Rather than levitating off the page and palpating, it’s dull and colorless as Joan says her name is –like a plate of cold mashed potatoes. That won’t do. The other reason I believe Joan 2 fails is that I edited out a lot of truth from the book in the interest of not violating privacies–somehow Joan 1 was compelled to talk and as such I could not interfere. I never planned to write Confessions. It just happened. A door opened and someone was talking (as my mother would say) a blue streak. The process wasn’t conscious nor was the choice of what she’d say. She just started talking one day and I started recording—what actually felt like channeling her. Suddenly I was writing in the voice of myself as a girl. But Joan 2 was not inspired and not compelled; she was simply recording

And censoring that record as she wrote—her impulse was admirable—there are times when decency has to take precedence over art. Revealing child secrets of the Cusacks was one thing; choosing to reveal adult Cusack history did not seem honorable.

That said, I’d jump at the chance to be taken over again by another part of me  compelled to speak. I’m here waiting.

On further thought, it occurs to me that my first two books (both poetry), GlOrious and The Red Canoe: Love in Its Making, are actually sequels to Confessions; GlOrious explores Joan’s rebellion and entry into womanhood, while Red Canoe unveils her marriage and motherhood and the complications of multiple spinal fusion surgeries (the result of scoleosis) on both. Not surprisingly, given the rather quirky flow of my books/histories, I’ve just finished the first draft of the fourth book in the ‘series’—also poetry—Orphaned: A Love Story—which explores my parents’ voices/histories (as Irish immigrants who arrived in the US just months before the Depression struck) and my adult rather complicated relationship with them.

While Orphaned percolates and cools down (I need distance to properly edit it), I’m focusing on the fascinating lives/stories of people I know/have known. Since they are not me, the challenge is to access and explore the emotional tension and power unique to them.

Thanks for listening….

joan