Raimonda Porter
asked
Chris Bohjalian:
I read MIDWIVES so many years ago but it remains fresh in my mind. How did you come up with this story? Do you know a midwife well? I am an RN and I was pinned to the story. This has been a burning question since I read the book.
Chris Bohjalian
Thank you, Raimonda, for your great work as an RN. You're doing the work of the angels.
The midwife who set me on the path to write the book — telling me about her work at a dinner party one summer night and then allowing me to interview her for hours on end — is a lovely, brilliant, kind woman named Carol Gibson Warnock. She’s also very funny. When I began writing the novel, I never thought it would be a courtroom drama: I thought it would be a gently comic, coming-of-age novel narrated by a young woman raised by a hippie midwife in rural Vermont.
But then my mother was diagnosed with cancer and it was clear she was going to die, and the novel changed. It morphed into a far more complex and morally ambiguous story.
I would end up deleting many of those early, light-hearted scenes about the “peace, love and tie-dye” culture of Vermont in the late 1960s and 1970s, but a few still remain.
The reality is that the book is set two generations ago now. It’s rooted in a particular moment in time, that era when Carol Gibson Warnock and her peers were part of a movement that had its roots in the counter-culture and back-to-the-land movements in Vermont.
But its themes are pretty universal and obviously relevant today. We were all born and we all will die. In between, we all aspire to do what we love in this world and — most of us, anyway — to minimize the pain we cause others. Think of the novel’s epigraph: “We are each of us responsible for the evil we may have prevented.” (James Martineau)
And so while there may be scenes that I would approach differently now, I really wouldn’t update or change anything of consequence. I love the way it brings to life that era: it was at once so hopeful and so innocent. And I think that’s why Sibyl’s betrayal by the medical and legal professions in the novel is so devastating.
Thanks so much for reading -- and writing!
All the best,
Chris B.
The midwife who set me on the path to write the book — telling me about her work at a dinner party one summer night and then allowing me to interview her for hours on end — is a lovely, brilliant, kind woman named Carol Gibson Warnock. She’s also very funny. When I began writing the novel, I never thought it would be a courtroom drama: I thought it would be a gently comic, coming-of-age novel narrated by a young woman raised by a hippie midwife in rural Vermont.
But then my mother was diagnosed with cancer and it was clear she was going to die, and the novel changed. It morphed into a far more complex and morally ambiguous story.
I would end up deleting many of those early, light-hearted scenes about the “peace, love and tie-dye” culture of Vermont in the late 1960s and 1970s, but a few still remain.
The reality is that the book is set two generations ago now. It’s rooted in a particular moment in time, that era when Carol Gibson Warnock and her peers were part of a movement that had its roots in the counter-culture and back-to-the-land movements in Vermont.
But its themes are pretty universal and obviously relevant today. We were all born and we all will die. In between, we all aspire to do what we love in this world and — most of us, anyway — to minimize the pain we cause others. Think of the novel’s epigraph: “We are each of us responsible for the evil we may have prevented.” (James Martineau)
And so while there may be scenes that I would approach differently now, I really wouldn’t update or change anything of consequence. I love the way it brings to life that era: it was at once so hopeful and so innocent. And I think that’s why Sibyl’s betrayal by the medical and legal professions in the novel is so devastating.
Thanks so much for reading -- and writing!
All the best,
Chris B.
More Answered Questions
Angela Ryser
asked
Chris Bohjalian:
I really enjoy not only your novels but your blog posts. You are an informed author who takes the necessary time to research and present supporting ideas. My question is this: Why do you not review on Goodreads the books you read? I would be most interested to hear your opinions. If you don't care to post your answer to the general public, I would welcome a note. Thank you!
Debs
asked
Chris Bohjalian:
I recently saw you at the Tucson Festival of Books and went right out and read the Flight Attendant. It was so interesting to read it after listening to you talk about it. I really enjoyed it and the character Cassie! I also enjoyed the playlist that you posted. So you ever envision writing a sequel to one of your books? I'd love to read more about Cassie in her new life.
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