Maggie San Miguel is the author of the new memoir Dressing a Tiger, which focuses on her experiences growing up around mobsters. She was born in Dallas and grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, and is certified as a past life regression therapist.
Q: You write, "This is a
portrayal of the softer side of the mob." Why did you decide to write this
book, and what do you see as the mob's "softer" side?
A: I wrote this book because,
for years, the story was keeping me up at night, wanting to be written. Its characters
following me around saying, “Remember us? Look how interesting we are! How can
you not write our story?” So I suppose I had no choice but to write it.
I always saw the softer side
in those men. Basically, I grew up with them and for many years I knew nothing
of their darker side. I merely saw them as friends, protectors and very
animated guys that, to me, were just “the guys.”
I watched them cook with
passion; tease each other with really sweet adoration; laugh until they were
crying; protect their families and they would worry about me when I was upset.
I think the thing that struck
me the most was how certain music would make them weepy. They were as childlike
and sentimental as they were ruthless, which made them all the more intriguing (and
disillusioning and complicated) to me as an adult.
Q: You write in the book
about your father's possible involvement in JFK's assassination. What evidence
do you have for his involvement, and what kind of research did you do to write
the book?
A: A funny thing, evidence: my
father once told me that if you’re smart, the only evidence left behind should
be evidence you want discovered (to steer people off track, I assume).
I think if I had strong evidence,
I probably wouldn’t go public with it because that is what lands you in the
trunk of a person’s car at the end of the day.
I was my father’s unwitting
confidant and his friends were my companions for my most impressionable years,
and I paid attention (and eavesdropped).
My sister and I compared
notes and my father admitted to me some personal accounts of what happened that
day in Dallas – he said “hundreds of men” knew about it beforehand and this
made my ears perk up more than anything.
My uncle serving as a Secret
Service Agent and my father’s friendship with John Connally added to the puzzle
naturally…so, from all of these things, the JFK chapters were born.
The book isn’t really about a
collection of evidence, but about attempting to fit the puzzle pieces together
with what little knowledge we’re given – especially in families such as mine.
I had to do a bit of research
on Al Capone because I knew nothing about him except what Dad told me about his
brief childhood experience with him. Other than that, very little research had
to be done. It was my memory I had to rely on. I lucked out on that part – I
simply loathe research.
Q: How was the book's title
chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: It was one of those weird
moments writers have – when suddenly an entire paragraph slaps you across the
face as you’re sitting on your front porch, minding your own business:
“Trying to get a straight answer from a
Mafioso is as futile an endeavor as dressing a tiger in a bowler hat and spats
in an attempt to change what he is. You can prod and coax, come at him from
various angles, but in the end, despite all your tactical efforts, the
mobster's words have not become reliable truths any more than the tiger has
become a gentleman.”
So I plucked it from there.
It signifies my relationship
with my father, basically. I was always trying to pry the entire truth from him
while also doing a lot of emotional excavation to find the softer, more human
side of him. Always trying to squeeze that tiger into some pants.
Q: The book jumps back and
forth over the decades. Did you plan its structure before you started writing,
or did you make changes along the way?
A: I wanted my story and my
parents’ stories to ride alongside each other and converge at the end. I
changed it to a chronological order at one point, but it lost something so I
reverted back to its present structure. I struggled with it, wanting it to be
much more graceful than it turned out to be.
Q: What are you working on
now?
A: It’s a historical novel about
a Hopi girl born with Siddhi (or pure) consciousness and how she influences the
musicians heading to play Woodstock in 1969. It involves a bunch of peace &
love…and tragically, a LOAD of research.
Q: Anything else we should
know?
A: Just that I appreciate
this interview very much. Thank you for this. It’s been fun!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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