Noted
how an intense & fascinating interview became my first published book
If you’re an obsessive notetaker like me, or simply fascinated by the notes of our most beloved writers, then let me recommend the newsletter Noted by English Professor
Each week, Jillian writes a post on what she’s learned from the personal notebooks of writers like Virginia Woolf, Beatrix Potter, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon and Emily Dickinson (to name only a few). Her latest post is about her own notebooks and note taking habits.
There are few things I love more than seeing other people’s journals and notebooks (and the pens they use). I’m both curious and nosy.
Shout-out to Jillian and also, this is a love letter to note taking.
I thought I’d show you the notebook I used while conducting an interview in 2011. Because of this interview, Guinevere was born.
My intention wasn’t a novel, but to write a nonfiction narrative piece that was scientific, and also a story about love.
I grew up hearing about my mother’s physical therapist, James, whose wife had had a totally unexpected and life-changing medical event: her heart stopped (undiagnosed QT Syndrome). When she lost consciousness, she happened to be at church surrounded by several medical students. It was a miracle they were able to get her heart started again, but minutes had gone by. How many? Six? Seven? Eight?
Think of the neurons in the brain like the branches in a tree. They branch out to communicate with the body. Without oxygen they start to shrivel and die.
The longer the brain and neurons go without oxygen, the more brain “tree” damage there will be.
A quote from THE UNFORGETTABLE GUINEVERE ST CLAIR:
How long can a person go without oxygen? I’ve experimented. My longest time ever is one minute and twenty-three seconds, which is pretty long, but I almost fainted, and my face turned a scary purple color. At five minutes brain cells begin to die. The tree branches shrivel.
Extraordinary efforts were taken to save Mama’s life that day…but it wasn’t enough. She was taken by ambulance, my father beside her. Paddles were applied to her chest, an electric shock was delivered. She was given numerous IVs. Still the heart did not pump. Six minutes without oxygen turned into eight. Nine. Ten.
In real life, Laura medically died, but due to the medical students and their lifesaving efforts, her heart was restarted.
Four months later, she awoke (“which is nothing like the movies”).
The brain was damaged in a way that she remembered nothing after the age of thirteen. She did not remember she was married, had two children, or that her father was gone.
Her short term memory was also damaged, so every time she was told who she was and what had happened, it was like the first time she was hearing it. Shocking and devastating.
James and I spoke over the phone for over two hours. I still had a flip phone. I sat on the kitchen floor scribbling notes into a blue spiral bound notebook. He spoke extensively about the heart and the brain and neuroplasticity (recommending that I read THE BRAIN THAT CHANGES ITSELF by Dr. Norman Doidge, which I did). He also spoke emotionally; the wife and the life they had known were gone.
Here are some pictures from my original notes:
When we hung up the phone, I pondered this mountain of information. How could I most powerfully tell this story? And I very much wanted to tell it. It felt like more than an article.
With James’ permission, I began to write a fictional story based on real events. In the book, Guinevere is the 11-year-old daughter of the fictional Vienna. I wrote from Guinevere’s Point of View: what would it be like to literally be forgotten by your mother?
The title reflects that question (a change from my original title, by my editor; and it’s better).
Many drafts and many years later (seven!), with constant reference to those scribbled notes, the book was published.
Every once in awhile, I’ll flip through this notebook and recall that conversation with great gratitude. It changed my life.
What about you?
I would love to hear about your note taking habits.
Miraculous and life changing stories are all around us - I hope you are taking notes.
Amy
and lastly, my darlings:
ICYMI: Last day to enter the three-book McNifficent giveaway. Tell your teacher and library friends!
Peterborough, NH: If you’re near Peterborough, New Hampshire on September 9th at 11am, I’ll be speaking at the Toadstool Bookstore! Would love to see you.
A Movie: Last night I watched Without Limits, a movie about Steve Prefontaine. Have you seen it? I’ve seen it many times and I’m always inspired…it’s a story.
Thanks for your kind words! & sharing your notes💛