Linda I. Meyers is the author of the new memoir The Tell. She is a psychologist and psychoanalyst in New York City and Princeton, N.J.
Q: Why did you decide to write this memoir, and how did you
choose the particular memories you included?
A: I wrote this memoir for my grandchildren believing that
by providing them with an historical perspective they would be better able to
understand their own lives. With that in mind, like markers on a hiking trail,
I sought memories that would that would help guide them from the past to the
present.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify
for you?
A: A "tell" is an unconscious reveal
given under psychological stress. The poker player who recognizes an opponent’s
tell, perhaps the twitch of the eye or the soft intake of breath, is best
situated to win the game.
A tell is also an archeological mound containing the
accumulated remains of human occupation and abandonment over the centuries. And
a tell tale or tattletale is a child who reports others’ wrongdoings or reveals
their secrets. This memoir is a tell in all of its meanings.
Q: You describe some difficult experiences, many involving
your relatives. What do your family members think of the book?
A: I’m about to find out. The book launches on June 5.
I’ll have to get back to you with the answer.
Q: What do you think the book says about the role of women
in the mid-20th century?
A: The late ‘60s and the early ‘70s was an exhilarating time
for women. Betty Friedan. Bella Abzug. Gloria Steinem. The march for Roe v.
Wade and the Equal Rights Amendment, infused women with a sense of their own
power and brought them alive to possibility. We felt like we were forging the
future for our daughters.
I think the book illustrates how the Women’s Movement helped
moved women out the kitchen and into the world.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I am about to begin another memoir that is rooted in my
professional life as a psychologist and psychoanalyst.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I hope The Tell illustrates how coming of age takes
a lifetime and that it is never too late to make the changes that imbue life
with passion and purpose.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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