Give us a short history on you and your work.
As a child, I loved words, books and poetry. They took me everywhere. When the transition came from being read to and reading for myself, I discovered I had “mirror vision” now known as dyslexia. I thought how wonderful it would be to string words together in a unique way to tell a special story. I grew up to write government reports.
But then, my life changed. My beloved younger brother had a major stroke. Life went cold, slowed down and slammed onto a single track. After I realized how big, deep and long this story was turning out to be, I started chronicling it: factually and viscerally.
Have you won any awards for your writing?
Does a kiss on the cheek from my fifth grade teacher count?
What are you currently working on?
My cousin recently gave me all the letters his mother received from my mother from 1936 to 1955. My mother’s family lived in New York. My mother drove alone across the country to California in 1936.
The letters chronicle her difficult life and are colored by how the sisters felt about each other and their apparently different lives. I’m exploring how to tell that story.
How do you get inspired to write?
It just comes over me. I see or feel something and immediately wonder how I can tell the story to share something of being human. Often I awake early and go to my computer and start writing. Three hours later, I look up. I am befuddled and feel much better after a walk.
Where did you get the idea for My Brother’s Keeper?
Life gave the story to me. No one could tell it from my perspective except me. I hoped I could share all I learned to make someone else’s life if not easier, at least more understandable.
How do you deal with writer’s block?
I’m lucky. I have been given a story to tell. I think writing fiction would be ever so much harder. Once I start, it’s hard to put the story down for a day.
What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Being able to spend time observing and thinking about what I learned. Writing gives me permission to pause whatever I was doing and take a closer look. The biggest challenge is trying to find the perfect word or phrase that describes what’s happening. A writer has a chance to record stories so their existence and meaning live on after the writer has gone.
Care about your subject. Be invested in the outcome of the story. For me, I need to have some semblance of knowing where I’m going with the story. Aimless wandering doesn’t suit me – although it certainly works for others.
Wendy and her brother Tracy at Versailles in France during 2007
Tell us about multiple points-of-view.
Every person has their own point of view. They are invested in their lives and the conclusions they’ve drawn. They’re entitled. Give them a hearing. But be true to yourself, your perspective, your judgment. You are the author.
What are some of your favorite parts of My Brother’s Keeper – for instance, a favorite line?
I like the parts of the story that inspire an emotional response. I enjoyed crafting pieces that interweave: mixing today with years ago to complete a segment of the story. I relished building little biographies of those who people Tracy’s and my world. Some pieces of the story for example, student loans, were complex and I enjoyed trying to get it right. Finally, the difference in the way my brother and I spell our name (Mac Ewan vs. MacEwan) I find humorous.
Do you use the five senses when you write?
Yes. They offer different avenues of observation. They add patina and dimension to the story. It would be impossible for me not to use them; they just come as I write.
A painting by Tracy MacEwan
How did you come up with the title for your book?
I decided not to force a name early. I knew it would come to me. As I neared the end of the story, that’s what happened.
Tell us about the characters in My Brother’s Keeper.
This is my remembrance, my focus, my perspective, and, if there are errors, they are all mine. It’s difficult to tell of myself; easier to speak of my brother. Writing about the strain in the relationship with my husband was hard. My daughter’s unconditional support astonished me. There are many people in the story but the ones I appreciate the most are the friends. They didn’t have to help or be concerned or do anything. They could have “been busy.” They weren’t. They could have turned away. They didn’t.
Who’s your audience?
As much of the general reading public I can reach to sing the praises of caregivers. As well, caregivers, medical professionals and community workers who are coming to know how critical caregivers are. Professionals want success for their patients/clients.
Caregivers are a major resource and critical link to their customers that can make all the difference. Helping caregivers reduce stress, learn how to seek help, how to pace themselves, how to navigate the rivers of red tape, how to do something practical like fold a wheelchair and lift it into the back of a car – all make a tough situation easier to survive.
What book or movie has MBK been compared to?
Early on, I researched whether there were other books out there like this one; I found none. Recently I found Get Me Through Tomorrow: A Sister’s Memoir of Brain Injury and Revival, by Mojie Crigler. In the broader view, stories of tragedy and fear, love and hope are all around us.
Two books that I referred to again and again were My Stroke of Insight, A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey, by Jill Bolte Taylor and Living with Stroke, a guide for families, by Richard C. Senelick, MD.
Where can readers go for more?
Look around. Thank a caregiver. Give attention to someone who appears to have difficulty speaking or walking. They may just need a smile or a helping hand. Give eye contact to someone who is “different” to show that you care just for a moment that they are here on the face of the Earth.
To find out more about Wendy Mac Ewan Kroger and her novel My Brother's Keeper: A Caregiver's Story, please visit her website: www.wendymacewankroger.com/
