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Questions
about BABY CATCHER
What
was your purpose in writing this book?
I
wrote BABY CATCHER as a celebration of the best years of nurse
midwifery in California. There was a window of time, a decade
when a few of us had everything: supportive backup doctors,
hospital privileges, affordable malpractice insurance, and a
patient population that wanted exactly what we had to offer.
It was brief, and it may never happen again, so I wanted to
document all that was so wonderful about it.
What
audience are you targeting?
I
envisioned this book appealing primarily to women during their
childbearing years, but I keep being told that it has a much
wider base. I began to believe that when I read a chapter at
a writing
conference in San Diego. When I finished reading, this short
little guy with tight jeans, cowboy boots with stacked heels,
and a huge moustache smacked the table and said, "Little
lady, when you started reading, I thought to myself, ‘Oh,
no, another vagina story,’ but it wasn’t like that
at all. I loved it, and I’ll sure as hell buy your book!"
Are
the stories in your book real? You say this is a memoir, but what
about privacy issues?
Nearly
all of the names were changed and many identifying details have
been altered to preserve confidentiality. But the people are
real, and everything really happened. I just scrambled the various
components, so many of the births are composites.
What
does your family think of your book?
They
seem nearly as thrilled as I am by the fact that my goal of
writing and publishing this story has actually come to pass.
My eldest child is convinced that I'll win the Pulizter Prize,
be presented to the Queen, and have BABY CATCHER made into a
movie by Steven Spielberg.
Do
you have plans to write another book?
Yes,
because I could tell only a few birth stories in this book.
There are so many more stored away in my memory chest. I have
material for at least two more books, perhaps focusing on specific
aspects of the birth experience: children at birth, dads who
caught their own babies, things like that. And I’d like
to try writing some fiction, as well.
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