Interview with memoirist Stephen Gallup

Writer Stephen Gallup joins the blog today with an inspiring award-winning memoir about his son, Joseph. The book is titled What About the Boy? A Father’s Pledge to His Disabled Son.

Bio:

Stephen Gallup has worked for many years as a technical writer in aerospace and wireless telecommunications, with projects ranging from proposals for satellite launches and feasibility studies of space missions, to user guides for trendy new cell phones. In the early years, he wrote occasional short fiction on the side, and features for newspapers.

His life changed drastically with the birth of his son Joseph in 1985. Upon learning that there was a problem, he applied his energies to a pursuit of answers that he felt certain must exist. After a year of consulting with physicians to no effect, he located other resources. For the next four years, he and his wife Judy implemented an intensive two-pronged treatment campaign that resulted in dramatic improvements in Joseph’s condition.

His memoir What About the Boy? shows what the family did, and what happened next. The book has twice won “Best Memoir” in the San Diego Book Awards competitions, once in the Unpublished category (2007) and again following publication in 2011.

Welcome, Stephen. Please tell us about your current release.

What About the Boy? is a true story about chasing an objective in the absence of dependable guideposts. Specifically, it’s about a campaign my wife and I launched to help our little boy overcome some pretty acute developmental problems. Nobody really understands what’s going on with him, and the doctors appear uninterested in finding out. So we’re pretty much on our own, and we get lost. The book uses the concept of a maze, or a labyrinth, as a kind of metaphor. The image on the cover suggests that.

What inspired you to write this book?

The book started out simply as a journaling exercise. I found myself in a confusing situation, and writing was a way to try and make sense of it. And of course writing provided an emotional release. There was no thought of ever seeing those words in print. But as I kept pondering the things that happened and what they meant, and as my point of view evolved over time, I realized that what I’d produced was a memoir. Memoir tends to be a kind of writing in which you use your present-day perspective to understand the one you had at the time you were living out the experience.

As an example, here’s an excerpt from the book in which my older self is looking back at my earlier motivations:

“But on the other hand if this campaign were to fail—No, it couldn’t fail! I refused to contemplate what that would mean, for myself as well as for Joseph. I avoided comparing the energy and passion I spent on his behalf with what I displayed at my day job. The managers there had faith in my ability to support tight deadlines with high-quality work, but I had no remaining bandwidth to offer much creativity or leadership. They rewarded my steady presence with steady employment, but no promotions. Like Nell’s contempt, that too was ok. I could not excel in my career because I had this program to do! Therefore, the program must not fall short of what I needed as badly as Joseph, because then neither of us had a way out.”

 What exciting story are you working on next?

Most of my creative energies over the last year have gone into promoting WATB. I do have a few pieces of short fiction sitting around, and I have this idea of putting them together into an ebook—or maybe two ebooks, one for fiction and one for my favorite blog posts. If that becomes a reality, I’ll just put ‘em up on Amazon for free. WATB was a very important project for me. At this point, I just don’t envision another one like it.

In July, a local newspaper reprinted one of my blog posts as an article, and today I heard that the editor liked that enough to ask me to pitch a regular column to them. Maybe I’ll become a journalist next.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

In grade school, teachers gave me lots of encouragement about my writing. They said it was a strength I should build on. And I always liked reading, so maybe there was a subconscious notion that one day I’d write books. Once, in my twenties, I was going to be getting nitrous oxide for a dental procedure, and I came up with this idea that while I was under it might be a way of getting in touch with my “inner self,” whatever that is. So I made of point of telling that inner self, You are a writer, just to see what would happen. But when I did that, my inner self replied, Of course. You already know that, dummy.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I do write full time, but that’s because I have a day job as a technical writer! Most of that output is not very creative. The memoir I wrote was composed in my spare time, over a period of many years. Likewise, blog posts for my website and occasional short fiction take shape in fragments of spare time here and there.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

A lot of what I’ve written began life as random jotting on scraps of paper—grocery store receipts, post-it notes, whatever happens to be within reach when inspiration strikes. (There are examples of that in front of me right now.) This could happen when I’m walking down the sidewalk, sitting in a boring meeting, or even driving on the highway. Later, in front of a computer, assuming I can read my scribbling, I look for a way to expand those nuggets into something worth reading. Somehow, that’s more natural for me than starting from scratch in a blank Word file.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Starting around age 10, I got it into my head that I was going to be a doctor. That assumption stayed with me a long time—right up to the point where I interviewed for medical school. My grades and test scores had been OK, but apparently I didn’t handle the interviews very well. The problem was a combination of immaturity and just not being prepared. I still think I’d have made a good doctor.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

My story shows, first of all, that I believe in taking charge of a challenging situation, to whatever extent that’s possible. I believe, since each of us has to live with the consequences of what we do, it’s really up to us to shoot for the best possible outcome.

But there’s no guarantee of achieving that outcome, even after we make our very best effort. Our culture is full of inspiring stories in which the underdog finally triumphs over the odds, but in reality it doesn’t necessarily work out that way. So a more important takeaway is this: Hardship comes to all of us, but misery is optional. Yes, we should do whatever we can to improve things, but there’s no reason to beat ourselves up if we don’t see the result we were looking for.

I'm happy to connect with readers through my Facebook and Twitter pages.

Thanks for sharing a little bit about your journey and story, Stephen.

Interview with memoirist Annie Laurie Harris

Today's guest Annie Laurie Harris, talks about her personal story, including her love for Penn State, which she's published in her memoir, It's Easier to Dance

Bio:

Annie Laurie Harris, the oldest one of her ethnicity who lives independently, was born with cerebral palsy. She has defied the odds and challenged the medical prognosis since early childhood. She continues to live a full and active life in her 6th decade. After achieving her Master's Degree at Penn State University in 1985 she worked as a counselor and advocate for those with a history of chemical dependency.

In 1990, she was recruited by the prestigious World Institute of Disability to be the Assistant Director of the first HIV/Disability Project. Her grant writing expertise is second to none as private foundations funded her innovative research projects again and again. 

Since returning to her home state of PA where she lives near her beloved alma mater, Ms. Harris continues to be involved in her community and avidly supports the Penn State athletic program. Once again,her love of writing helps to supplement her income. Her groundbreaking memoir, It's Easier to Dance, is provocative and thought provoking.

Welcome, Annie. Please tell us about your book.

Because my book, It’s Easier to Dance, is a memoir, I wrote it in a conversational style that allows the reader to travel through history with the main character, myself. Each chapter describes a challenge I had to overcome for not only a person with cerebral palsy but for an Afro-American woman being educated and part of the work force in the sixties. Here is an example:

 “Academics proved to be not much of a challenge, even at the main campus. Mostly I enjoyed the interaction and opportunity to learn and socialize with other people. I carried around a piece of carbon paper and asked whoever was sitting beside me to put the carbon paper in their notebook. That’s how I got my class notes. My having nearly a photographic memory made it easy for me to pass mid-term and final exams. Everybody at the branch campus thought it would be academically more difficult at the main campus, but I soon began to receive honorary academic awards. “

What inspired you to write this book?

Nothing was written by or about an adult with cerebral palsy. As I was beginning to experience the same misconceptions and stereotypes from my childhood, I realized that a book must be written. 

            

I wanted to give at least one real life example of an African American woman’s life who continues to live successfully with this complex, socially stigmatized birth defect. I wanted others to know that a full, rich life IS possible if YOU decide that’s how it will be!

Excerpt: Femininity

As the group was saying their good-byes, Robert invited me to visit him at his community. As he walked me to the door, he slid his hand along my arm in a gentle caress. That summer was the end of my graduate school course work. I was taking 6 credits, one 3 credit course and one independent study. I hardly went to that class; it was on death and dying. Instead I spent the summer days sitting in the sun at the nearby community watching Robert go about his daily life. He worked on cars and cut wood in the sawmill. Every now and then he would come and see if I needed any water, I always took my lunch and we would chat.

Robert found it difficult to articulate ideas and feelings, as I found it difficult to walk. We came to know each other through touch, dance, smell, and the sound of each other's laughter, and the countless expressions that cross the human face. There was a new baby in the community - Rose and her two-year-old brother Joshua. Robert would carry me piggyback up the hill to their house where we would eat a meal with that family. Like me, Robert loved small children and babies. So we frequently took care of little Rose, who was 3 months old at the time.

 Although there was a strong physical attraction growing between us, it was real slow. It wasn't "I've got to have you or I'll die.” It wasn't like that. Since we were older, there seemed to be some physical intelligence that said it just wasn't time to act on that attraction. Not yet, it just wasn't time. Dusk would come and I would say that it was time to go home. And he would drive me into town. At some point during that summer we took a trip to Maine. Robert drove a truck. He invited me to go with him when I told him my plans to vacation with a friend who lived on a nearby island. We left late in the day and drove all night. Being around him was interesting, it was different. My slowness didn't seem to bother him. He could slow down to my pace as if it were his own. So I never felt rushed with him and he never got in my way with quick movements. He was the first man I knew where my disability wasn’t a significant barrier to being with me for long periods of time. 

What exciting story are you working on next?

I was going to write about my experience with practicing yoga for 14 years. However, I think a book on the importance of self advocacy and how it works is “calling” to be written.
 

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I had written poetry since my teenage years. In college and graduate school, I enjoyed writing. When I realized about 15 years ago that there wasn’t anything written by or about an African American with cerebral palsy, I decided to write my memoir. When I first realized the first 4 chapters were actually going to be a book. I remember thinking, “This is going to be a book, and I’m the author!”                         

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I am nearly always writing “in my head.” Ideas and images come spontaneously at any time. Having a near photographic memory, I “file” things away until I can sit at my computer. Does that make me “full time?” It sure feels that way!

I like to write in the morning because I find myself slowing down at night. I am very busy. I am active in the community. I am very active in supporting Penn State's Athletic Department. I go to all the home football games. I am very social. I am going on a cruise to the Bahamas in December. Also tending to my personal needs takes time.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Being able to draw analogies to things in other cultures so many people can find relevance in what I write.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A wife & mother.

However, my most immediate goal was to become an educated person, a college graduate. This was something my mother wanted for me. She told me there was no such thing as "can't. So rather than dream about a profession, I wanted more than anything to overcome the attitude of people who dismissed my goals because of my disabilities and prove to myself that I could become a college graduate and I did.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I wrote my memoir to inspire hope in others who live with unimaginable challenges. With an attitude of hope, faith and a healthy sense of humor, a rich, full life can be had, if one decides that’s how it’s going to be. No one lives life independently! False pride, self pity, blaming others, and looking backwards (except to bring lessons learned forward) are “luxuries” that will cost one dearly. To the degree one can leave them behind, will be what others remember about your life.

I would love for the readers to enter my Book Launch Contest for the chance to win a Kindle Fire HD. The contest will be live throughout my virtual book tour. If you buy my book, half the proceeds go to a cerebral palsy charity. The Kindle version is on Amazon and the hard copy is on my website: http://www.annielaurieharris.com.

Thank you so much for this interview. It was very nice of you to host my virtual book tour.

I'm happy to be one of the hosts for your tour, Annie. Thank you for sharing so much.

Readers, you can connect with Annie through:

Her website and blog | LinkedIn | Facebook

And don't forget to enter to win a Kindle Fire HD:

a Rafflecopter giveaway