A Conversation with Author Deanna Adams
On Personal Village Keepers, "Bad-Boy Syndrome" and her Confessions
Not-so-good Catholic girl Deanna Adams grew up in the little-known
Village of Lakeline, Ohio. She's stuck there.
If that were the whole story of writer Deanna Adams' life, she could not
have produced the series of crisp, witty, honest, and specific essays that
comprise her memoir Confessions of a Not-So-Good Catholic Girl. Deanna's a
good storyteller, but she also has some things to tell us about living.
"It's not where you live, it's knowing where you belong... and sometimes, it
takes most of our lives to realize where that somewhere is... I actually
belong right where I started in the first place."
Adams shares memories of meeting the Loving Spoonful when they stayed in
the cottage next to her grandmother's at Euclid Beach Park and how seeing
the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show gave a generation a license to rebel
along with an attitude and lifestyle all their own. This author of Rock 'n
Roll and the Cleveland Connection accomplishes what a memoir is meant to
accomplish -- connection with the reader by telling the story of a life
while showing us the lessons learned along the way. Like any good story, the
protagonist changes, in this case from a girl who so badly misbehaved her
mother sent her to an all-girls school to a woman whose grown daughters are
given a list of instructions in the essay "What I Want to Tell My Children"
and mourns the loss of her waist.
TThe words are tight and descriptive and solid. She describes the house
she grew up in as a center of activity: “a stream of cats and kids would
drift in and out of our house like Eagle Stamp Day at the May Company.” And
on poker night relatives would come in the door “with arms full of penny
jars and brown paper sacks of long-necked beer bottles and mason jars of
caramel-colored liquor.” The stories are lively and the pace is brisk. She
knows how to move a story along. An accomplished essayist, Adams flavors her
work with metaphors like “runs smoothly through my grandmother’s side like
fine whiskey.”
WWe have a complete sense of who Deanna was and who she has become. She’s
a woman comfortable with who she is and glad to have arrived there. One of
my favorite quotes is: “Funny, in childhood, we impulsively act on emotion.
We feel like skipping, we skip... we must say and do what’s expected of us,
and oftentimes, lose ourselves in the process. The child, and that freedom,
is gone. Usually never to return. If we’re lucky, though, we come to realize
that to be truly happy we have to be who we are, and true to our spirit—the
authentic person inside us... I was yet to learn all this as a naïve, badly
behaved, and confused fourteen-year-old Catholic hippie girl living in a
Greaser world.”
I asked Deanna about her experience of writing the book, what she hoped
to accomplish, and her life in an e-mail interview.
Cool Cleveland: Your website quotes Sue Monk Kidd’s book The Secret Life
of Bees as saying “Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die,
we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here” which I think captures why
people write memoir. Did Sue Monk Kidd’s book influence you to write
Confessions of a Not-So-Good Catholic Girl? Or did you stumble upon that
quote when you were reading the book and it said what you wanted to say so
you used it?
Deanna Adams: Exactly! The catalyst for this book came when I was
clearing out my Mom's condo after she died, and I was finding all these
photos and letters and momentos and it got me to thinking about life, love
and the legacies that are passed down and how it doesn't matter what
generation we come from, we all go through the same kind of "stuff." I
decided I wanted to write about it all, of course from the eyes and
experiences of a baby boomer.
Your Prologue catches the reader’s attention by telling the story of how
you almost drowned because of the Ruth family Gene and how you understood
guilt and regret and thankfulness from the experience. You also hint at
something else coming up in the book, the story of George Herman Ruth, aka
Babe in Part Two). Later you write about becoming more authentic in middle
age. Did you hold anything back in this book? Is this the same thing we'd
find in your journal or did you borrow from your journal and throw that
away?
I don't journal -- no time! -- and there are certainly things I hold back
of course that didn't really need to be in there, but I also made sure not
to hold back too much because the memoirs/essays that have always touched me
the most were the ones where the author doesn't hold back and is honest --
showing the struggles, angst, conflict and ultimately how we evolve as we do
and become who we really are. I wanted to show that, not only how I came
into my own as a person, but also how my mother evolved into a happy,
dance-loving person -- certainly not the one who raised me. I feel that was
a real triumph of life!
50-plus years of life is a lot of material and you give us a lot of
detail. How does one write about an entire life? How does one gather the
material and form it into stories that capture an entire life?
'''It was hard of course, making each story connect, and some I didn't
use because they ultimately didn't fit. But I wanted to show personal
growth and how experiences help us grow and change. And that takes
nearly a lifetime, I think. I simply went about it by organizing the
stories as you would a novel, with an interesting opening, conflict,
plotting it out, showing change and growth in the characters -- not just
me, you'll notice, but my mother, too! -- and finally how we come to
accept who we are and not try to be what others' expect of us. To be
true to ourselves. And in my case, how faith saves us from ourselves
sometimes.
Plus, I wanted this book to be a little different: a collection of
stories about life, love and legacies, not a straight narrative because I
think more people today prefer shorter pieces where they can pick it up,
read a bit, then go back to it later. So yeah, it's a bit unique and I hope
the risk of doing something different is ultimately successful.
In the acknowledgements, you thoughtfully mention your “personal village
keepers,” which I love--can you expound on what you mean by that?
I have an amazing group of colleagues who keep me honest and will flag
something in my work that's not working. They are indeed my literary support
system and as I say in the acknowledgements, I believe no writer can produce
anything worthwhile without that, not even the best of writers. I feel very
lucky to have them, and they have helped make me a better writer.
As a middle-aged woman who grew up in the sixties and seventies, I can
relate to this, a lot. Who’s your target audience? Other women, your family,
or did you just want to tell the story?
Yes, I wrote it for baby boomer women like you! Mostly, that is. But it's
funny, I'm getting just as much interest from men as women -- 'course I
think that it's the title that gets their attention! (laughs) And everyone
has family, and have had strained or difficult relationships, so the guys
can definitely relate to that as well.
I love your description of “Bad-Boy Syndrome,” particularly because women
all experience it and it’s true that some never get through it to find a man
who can make her smile, AND I like the picture of the bad-boy all scribbled
on and x’d out. That story was truly a “lessons learned” story—the lessons
are good and universal.
Ah, Bad-Boy Syndrome. It's an epidemic. And I knew most women can relate
to that! By the way, my 18-year-old daughter did the artwork on that bad-boy
picture! My daughters' joke is that I'm always giving life lessons and that
I'm prone to lecturing. But I'm big on self-improvement and find that every
situation has its potential lessons, so that's what I wanted to convey. The
humor throughout the book was very important to me, because no one wants to
get lectured to, especially when they are reading. So I tried to make it fun
and still get my message across. Though as you see, some of the stories have
no real message -- they're just experiences we all share. And sometimes I
just wanted to honor a life, like in Chapter 7.
Your speech at the Western Reserve Writer’s Conference this year
expounded on how committed you are to helping others get started or keep
going in their writing. Was there a particular experience that got you going
on that topic, leading you to direct that Western Reserve Writer’s
Conference and the Women Writer’s Winter Retreat?
This is a huge topic. Basically I had a couple wonderful mentors and
knowing how we writers need each other for input, suggestions and critiques,
I wanted to promote that. We all need workshops. I love books and the whole
writing process and want to do my part in helping others keep the literary
world alive and thriving.
What are the dates of the Western Reserve Writer’s Conferences this
coming year?
The spring one, a half-day conference, is March 28. The full-day one will
be on September 19.
Check out Adams' website at
http://www.deannaadams.com
and read some of Confessions of a Not-So-Good Catholic Girl. Then go out and
buy it for any woman over 40. Or anyone who knows what it’s like to grow up
in a small town, is afraid of the water, has parents who divorced, or is a
parent whose sleep is disturbed by “Sense of Dread (SOD)”.
Adams holds a Book Signing/Reading for Confessions at Mac's Backs
Bookstore 1820 Coventry Rd., Cleveland Hts on Saturday, January 24 at 7PM.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia J. Taller
ctallerwritesATwowway.com
Some Excerpts...
From
Boy Trouble:
The romance began in the principal’s office (where
a girl is sure to meet the bad boy of her dreams). He was
bold and brash—a lightning-strike version of a sleek Italian
rebel with a full head of dark wavy hair, bulging brown
eyes, and an attitude that would make John Gotti swell with
pride. My mother hated Anthony straight up. Reason number
one to call him mine.
From
Suffering For My Art: When someone says, “Don’t take it
personally,” you are bound to take it personally. Because it
is. When they make it clear they don’t want you anymore,
you’re right back on the school playground, the last one
picked for the game. You are the unwanted morsel of
candy—bit into, spat out, and left abandoned among the empty
crumpled wrappers in the 16-oz. box of chocolates. You are
the wad of repugnant chewed-up Juicy Fruit stuck underneath
the school desk, or church pew. You are the unsolicited
piece of junk mail that is so unwelcome people angrily rip
you up into microscopic pieces before tossing you in the
garbage - then complete the act by dumping stale coffee
grounds on top of you like a ceremonial burial.
No matter how much you ache to
leave a job, or a marriage, you want to be the one who
leaves. Not the one who is
left.
From
Confessions of a Not-So-Good Catholic
Girl: “Bless
me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been, uh . . .
um . . . I think . . . no . . . I guess . . . well, maybe . . . uh,
probably about . . . four months?
. . . since my last confession.”
I’ve always found this holy
practice bizarre. There you are, kneeling in a pitch-black
closet, confessing all your ungodly behavior to an
authoritative voice that will judge you without even knowing
that you’re really not all that bad a person.
This, after actually having waited in line
to totally rat yourself out. This, after having memorized
your sins because you can’t bring the long list into the
confessional since it’s too damned (oops, sorry God, I’ll
add that to the list) dark in there. Still, you’re supposed
to keep track of each and every trespass because the numbers
are important to measure out the penance. You are then
forced to underplay your crimes—slyly altering possible
mortal sins to venial—because you don’t want this Man of God
thinking poorly of you. You then ask for forgiveness and
hope The Voice bestows a light sentence. (You’ve already
increased those odds by going to Father A, the kind one,
rather than Father B, who’d make his own mother say the
entire rosary. Twice. And with feeling.)
What It All Means:
I believe life is a test, the multiple choice kind. Like
when Dorothy and the Scarecrow in
The
Wizard of Oz must decide which direction to take at the four-way
crossroad. The fearful ones choose to turn around and go
back. The doubtful ones choose not to choose and stay stuck
in neutral. The brave ones make a decision and venture on.
Perhaps we’re given these tests to see what we do with our
dilemmas. How we handle our relationships with the people in
our lives. We’re not supposed to have all the answers. It’s
the process, the journey, as they say, that provides the
best memories—and some of the best stories. . . .
And precisely what
you’ll find in this new book by Deanna Adams.
Like many other people I always ask why the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ended
up in Cleveland. They have the Football Hall of Fame in Canton; they have a
baseball and a football team, what more do they need, right? What every music
loving person needs to do is pick up a copy of Deanne Adams' "Rock 'n' Roll and
The Cleveland Connection." Only then will you begin to understand why the Hall
belongs in Cleveland.
I was absolutely amazed at how many great groups came out of Cleveland. The
James Gang, The Damnation of Adam Blessing, and The Raspberries are the first
that come to mind for me. Of course there were hundreds more. And that is only
one aspect of music that was so heavily influenced by the beloved "North Shore."
There were radio announcers, namely Alan Freed, concert promoters, club owners,
labels, and writers. Literally every aspect of the music business had something
to do with Cleveland in some way, shape, or form at some point during the
development of rock music. It's like a bible to the Cleveland music scene.
Adams really did her homework before publishing this massive volume. I can't
imagine the amount of time and research that went into completing this book. She
didn't leave out a thing. This is without a doubt the most important volume of
work ever dedicated to music in the Cleveland area. She compiled interviews with
artists, club owners, DJs, and writers, in order to give a multi-faceted view of
the music business.
I was enthralled while reading this book every second my nose was in between
the pages. To write a book this voluminous and to keep it interesting at all
times is a major challenge. It looks as though Adams was ready for all the
trials and tribulations associated with such and undertaking.
This book will not only give you a new found appreciation for the importance
of Cleveland, it will help you to understand what a difficult business music can
be and all the aspects involved in becoming a success or failure. It's not just
a historical and factual guide, the stories are true to life recollections of
real people that were right in the middle of making, promoting, and covering the
music. All of these are very important segments of the entire picture. I think
the author realized before she even started on this venture how important it was
to talk to all of the key people that made the North Shore what it was.
Get it, read it, learn it, and you will love it. Then you will be able to
talk in an informed and educated manner about what really happened when rock and
roll began.
Title: Rock 'n' Roll and The Cleveland Connection 
Anyone who ever spun a 45 or LP, played a cassette, eight-track, or a CD, will
find enjoyment and pleasure reading this book. There is only one way to become
educated and informed about the people, places, and historic events that are the
subject matter of this great book.