Q&A with Dianne Ebertt Beeaff

 

 

 

Dianne Ebertt Beeaff is the author of the new memoir Infinite Paradise. Her other books include On Traigh Lar Beach. She is also an artist, and she is based in Tucson, Arizona. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Infinite Paradise?

 

A: The property Infinite Paradise has been in my family for nearly 70 years. As so much of our natural world has been or is being destroyed, I wanted in some small way to bring attention to what remains. Nature has so much to offer, to tell us and give us, especially in troubling times.

 

It is my hope that my experiences will inspire others to look to the natural world to combat stress, heal the human spirit, and foster new and calming perspectives on life. The complexity, beauty, and power of the natural world is available to any reader who stays open to the splendid life forms among which they live.

 

Q: The writer Florence Reiss Kraut said of the book, “You will be the richer for Beeaff’s exploration of the natural world: empowered to see the world anew with a wisdom and understanding that will enhance your own life.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I loved Florence’s description! It’s my hope that Infinite Paradise will leave readers with the sense of just a fraction of her words.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: Some years ago, I travelled to Costa Rica for a yoga retreat. Each of the counters in the San Jose airport had a posting that said: “Infinite Paradise, Costa Rica for all Seasons.”

 

I was already working on the cottage book at the time, and as my mother always referred to the place as Paradise, Infinite Paradise seemed the perfect title for the book. Having enjoyed the cottage for many, many years myself, I already knew that experiences there were infinite.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write the book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

 

A: I loved working on this book. In a structural sense, the hardest part of writing to me is the first draft. In this case, the first draft was already done in my personal journals and those of my father.

 

It gave me great pleasure to relive the many wonderful experiences I’ve had over the years on this unique property. Working with those memories made me realize how special it is and what might be done to preserve it.

 

It is my hope that the stories in Infinite Paradise will transcend the personal space from which they come, move past the subjective to touch the collective spirit, and that readers will find their own, however small, healing portion of nature’s paradise.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I was born and raised in southern Ontario, Canada but moved to the U.S. in my early 20s. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in mid-October, the U.S. at the end of November. A turkey dinner with all the trimmings for both Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed a bit overboard.

 

Rather than transitioning to a ham or a roast, I decided to create Christmas meals from other countries, the yearly choice taken from some world event or personal traveling. I did this from 1984 until 2024. I hope to put together a cookbook with the working title Forty Days of Christmas, featuring those 40 years of Christmas menus.

 

I am also working on a second book of short stories to follow on my first, On Traigh Lar Beach, published in 2020.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Dianne Ebertt Beeaff.