Ask the Author: Elyse Friedman
Answered Questions (1)
Elyse Friedman
Hi Connie,
Thanks so much for picking up the book. And for your question.
To be honest, the idea had been rattling around in my subconscious for a long, long time. When I was a teenager I lived with my parents in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto. It was a bohemian part of the city back in the day. I met one of my neighbours--a guy who was a couple of years older than me. He lived down the street in a ramshackle apartment with a bunch of dogs and cats and two hippie girls who happily supported him.They had jobs. He just hung out. He told me he was writing a manifesto, and that he was going to start a cult. I remember joking about how it would be a good way to make money. And so the seed was planted. A few years ago I heard about various gurus who simply stare at their followers. I thought that was really interesting. Why would an unbroken gaze illicit such a powerful emotional response? Why would people spend many of their hard earned dollars to have someone just look at them? I wondered if maybe it conjured up a memory from childhood. An infant is looked at that way by loving parents. An infant receives unconditional love, has no worries, and is completely taken care of. All of these thoughts started mixing together. I began to think about what humans need to feel happy and fulfilled. And about faith. Then the story began to take shape. Apologies for the very long answer. And thanks again for reading my book. One of the protagonists is a psychology student. So there will be some familiar stuff in there for you. I hope you like it!
Cheers, e
Thanks so much for picking up the book. And for your question.
To be honest, the idea had been rattling around in my subconscious for a long, long time. When I was a teenager I lived with my parents in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto. It was a bohemian part of the city back in the day. I met one of my neighbours--a guy who was a couple of years older than me. He lived down the street in a ramshackle apartment with a bunch of dogs and cats and two hippie girls who happily supported him.They had jobs. He just hung out. He told me he was writing a manifesto, and that he was going to start a cult. I remember joking about how it would be a good way to make money. And so the seed was planted. A few years ago I heard about various gurus who simply stare at their followers. I thought that was really interesting. Why would an unbroken gaze illicit such a powerful emotional response? Why would people spend many of their hard earned dollars to have someone just look at them? I wondered if maybe it conjured up a memory from childhood. An infant is looked at that way by loving parents. An infant receives unconditional love, has no worries, and is completely taken care of. All of these thoughts started mixing together. I began to think about what humans need to feel happy and fulfilled. And about faith. Then the story began to take shape. Apologies for the very long answer. And thanks again for reading my book. One of the protagonists is a psychology student. So there will be some familiar stuff in there for you. I hope you like it!
Cheers, e
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