To round off our first exhilarating month of release, Daniel appeared for a brief interview at THE WRITERS LIFE!
Q: How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?
I’d get sick after every draft I completed. I’d be so worn down, exhausted, afraid, unsure. But invariably, writing Room For Grace was my chance to keep their voices close. I needed to keep hearing them. It was like body armor for me. I feared the inevitable. Writing and journaling those four years of my parents’ illnesses allowed me to participate more closely and to monitor changes and nuances. I believed my mom when she told me we’d find lessons in all the small day-to-day moments. Though, many of the moments were profoundly sad. But, I knew I was giving my family a gift. A record. A tribute. I gave them my presence and my curiosity and gave them the opportunity to be articulate. We spent a lot of time together, in the last eighteen months. There were always going to be more lessons, that’s just who my mom was and, there were always going to be more stories, that’s just who my dad was. I was always going to want to give my mom a piece of my mind, that’s just who I am. We were all present for something mysterious. That’s unconditional love, to share in mystery together. Mom and I pushed each other so that her courage became my courage. The last thing I remember her saying was - I want to thank you for being so free with your thoughts. I shared an incredible bond with my parents. To hear their fears, many of them devastating, to watch their lives shrink from disease, it wasn’t easy. But to be one of the vessels they could pour their thoughts into gave me a sense of peace. And ultimately, after they passed, I had no regret. In its place, I had pages and pages and pages of amazing stories waiting to be tackled, to be remembered, to be shared. If I had any advice I guess I would say, anticipate the needs of those around you, speak for those in need and stay fiercely loyal.
Click to read the rest of the interview.