Ask the Author: Catherine Kapphahn
Answered Questions (6)
Catherine Kapphahn
I listen to a lot of podcasts (On Being, StoryCorps, The Moth, Radio Lab, Hidden Brain, Invisabilia, Fresh Air) and audible books that stir up ideas inside me. Whatever it is that I'm focused on in my writing, I search for material (podcasts, documentaries, books, films) that will give me insights and help me make connections.
Catherine Kapphahn
I am working on a book about the misadventures of a dyslexic girl making her way through school. Unaware and undiagnosed, she wanders through the enchantment of childhood and the trauma of learning differently until she grows up and discovers what it means to write a story of her own.
Catherine Kapphahn
We all hold important stories in our bodies and when we write them down, we process them in a particular way that allows us to change ourselves and our history. When we write, we can ask questions that we never had a chance to ask in real life, we can say things we never had a chance to say, we can embody experiences in new ways that allows us to heal.
Catherine Kapphahn
What has surprised me the most about writing Immigrant Daughter: Stories You Never Told Me is that when I was struggling with certain things, somehow people magically appeared in my life and helped me get through the rough patches. It was incredible to connect with different people, some who weren't writers, and have them go on the journey with me. We got teary together, we laughed together, we sang together, and I was so moved that they cared so much about my mom's story.
When you are writing every day, you find a a certain flow. It feels like a deep dive into the story, and it seems like nothing else exists. That's when writing suddenly feels like flying.
When you are writing every day, you find a a certain flow. It feels like a deep dive into the story, and it seems like nothing else exists. That's when writing suddenly feels like flying.
Catherine Kapphahn
I try to break things down into little pieces. I tell myself, today before the kids wake up, I'll do one piece of research, or write one scene, or revise one piece. I think it is easy to get overwhelmed by everything, so I try to really narrow my focus and tackle one thing. I often make lists of images, or details, or sensations, and then weave them into stories.
Catherine Kapphahn
In my second attempt at college, I was sitting in my very first creative writing class at Hunter College in New York with an inspiring and lively Italian American professor and writer named Louise DeSalvo. She made us all feel like we deserved to write our stories. At the time, I was sinking in grief, I had just lost my mom to ovarian cancer and I felt lost and alone. In that classroom, I ended up writing the chapter about my mother's dying that appears in this book. That was the beginning of a long journey that showed me this story was going to be about so much more and led me on many adventures. The writing helped me travel back in time and resurrect the relatives I never knew and build relationships with them. It sent me into the magical place that exists between mothers and daughters even when one of them has died.
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