Q&A with Meryl Ain

 

 

 

Meryl Ain is the author of the new story collection Remember to Eat and Other Stories. Her other books include the novel Shadows We Carry. She lives in New York and in Boca Raton, Florida. 

 

Q: Over how long a period did you write the stories in Remember to Eat? 

 

A: I wrote the stories over a period of nine months, but many of them had been brewing in my head for a very long time. I had the idea for the first story and it just flowed, so then I wrote four more. I sent them to my publisher, and she loved them, so then I knew I had a book. 

 

Q: How did you create your characters Alice and Marjorie, and how would you describe their relationship? 

 

A: Alice is a member of the Greatest Generation who served in the military during WWII. She is inspired by my mother, who grew up in the Depression, was old enough to be aware of the rise of Nazi Germany, and then chose to enlist to fight it.

 

After the war as a housewife, she was raising two children when Betty Friedan's book, The Feminine Mystique, was first published. In some situations, she was ahead of her time, but in other ways, she was stymied by the expectations for women and mothers. 

 

Marjorie is a baby boomer whose character was inspired by all the baby boomers I have known -- including myself! She grew up with the benefits and also the baggage of that generation, but for the most part, she lacked the confidence to follow her dreams. Marjorie and Alice have a very close relationship, perhaps too close. 

 

Q: How was the book’s title--also the title of the first story in the collection--chosen, and what does it signify for you? 

 

A: My first choice for the book's title was Family Circle because the book is the story of a family from 1938 to the present. While Alice and Marjorie are the protagonists in most of the stories, there are a wide array of engaging characters.

 

I was also thinking of the Family Circle meetings I used to attend when I was a child. My grandmother was one of 12 colorful children, and after their parents died, they formed a Family Circle, which met about once a month.

 

I believe this was typical for Jewish families at the time, and I thought the title would resonate with baby boomers. But my publisher didn't think it was punchy enough. 

 

The first story in the book is titled "Remember to Eat," and it's a humorous one about the different perspectives of a husband and wife during childbirth. That's what the publisher chose for the title of the book. 

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book? 

 

A: I hope they laugh, cry, ponder, and discuss. I hope they see themselves and people they know in some of the situations and stories. I hope they appreciate the time capsule from pre-WWII to the present. I hope they enjoy the book enough to tell their friends and family about it. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm writing more short stories, and perhaps they will become a book too. Mostly, I'm trying to spread the word about Remember to Eat. I'm speaking to groups -- both in person and virtually. I have a Facebook group, called Jews Love to Read!  And we have more than 6,000 members.

 

I also interview other authors on my podcast, People of the Book, which is broadcast on The Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I appreciate this interview, Deborah. Thank you so much for having me. I love interacting with readers, and I'm so grateful to anyone who takes the time to contact me. I can be contacted through my website, merylain.com/

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Meryl Ain.