True Colors

There is nothing more awkward than having family ask about your book. My family is the type of family from which you can hide pretty much your entire life--what you like doing, where you go, who you see--except what it is you've achieved. And while I do appreciate the enthusiasm, I think a huge part of it is the need for parents to be proud of their children more than actual anticipation of the fiction in the book. And if enthusiasm were enough, I don't think I would be losing sleep.

But my mother keeps asking to see Paperweight and the more she asks, the more hesitant I get to show her what it is I write. I keep asking myself whether it is ethical to do that: is a child allowed to show her parents that she is not a child? Moreover, is it okay to show them how their shortcomings have shaped your view of the world? Is there a way to do that without inflicting unnecessary pain on anyone?

I don't suppose I'll know until I can no longer hide the three hard-bound books. 

Whatever the consequence, I suppose putting work out there is putting yourself up for critique--whether it be  from a literary, cultural or (goodness) spiritual standpoint--and that is that.