Take 5 with Erika Liodice, author of Empty Arms
By Kathleen Bolton | November 19, 2011 |
Kath here. I love it when we are able to feature the debut of someone who has been part of the WU (and now RU) community. Some of you many recognize Erika Liodice’s name. Her website and blog Beyond the Gray have been a source of inspiration to the online writing community for years. And now Erika is celebrating the release of her debut novel EMPTY ARMS. We asked her to share her writer’s journey and a little bit about the process behind writing her novel. Happily, she agreed.
Please enjoy this special Take 5 with Erika Liodice.
Q: What’s the premise of your debut novel?
Empty Arms is the story of Catharine Chase, who had a baby out of wedlock in 1973, when she was just sixteen. An embarrassment to her parents, Catharine was exiled to a maternity home to carry out her pregnancy far away from the watchful eyes of their tight-knit community. What they didn’t tell her is that she wouldn’t be allowed to keep her baby.
With her daughter’s screams still echoing in her ears, the medical staff told Catharine she’d move on with her life and have more children, they promised she’d forget. But they were wrong. Catharine never forgot Emily. And when she and her husband, Paul, learn that they can’t have children, she risks her job, her marriage, and her family’s reputation in a desperate attempt to find the daughter she never wanted to give away and reclaim her only chance to be a mother.
Q: What would you like people to know about the story itself?
Empty Arms explores adoption, parenthood, and infertility, while shedding light on the experiences of nearly 4 million unwed mothers who were forced to surrender their babies for adoption in the 1940s-1970s (a period known as the Baby Scoop Era). Many of these young women were coerced into the decision by case workers, medical staff, and their parents. They were told they’d move on with their lives, have more children, and forget about the babies they were giving away. But how can a mother ever forget her baby? Most never did. And their decisions haunted them every day, resulting in a lifetime of problems, ranging from guilt, shame, and depression, to troubled marriages, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even suicide.
Between the birthmothers, birthfathers, babies, and adoptive families, I estimate that the number of people impacted by these “forced adoptions” is in the tens of millions. And yet there are hardly any novels written on the subject. Until now.
Q: What do your characters have to overcome in this story? What challenge do you set before them?
Empty Arms opens with the protagonist, Catharine, and her husband, Paul, learning that they can’t have children. It’s a cruel irony for Catharine, who was forced to surrender her daughter for adoption twenty-two years earlier. Catharine never told Paul about the baby, but when he reveals that he wants to adopt a child of their own—an option that Catharine can’t bear to consider because of own her traumatic relinquishment experience—she’s faced with having to tell him the truth at the risk of destroying their marriage.
The other major challenge that Catharine has to tackle is the search for her long-lost daughter, which is made even more difficult by a complicated closed records system and her mother’s determination to keep the family’s secret.
Q: What unique challenges did this book pose for you, if any?
The biggest challenge was figuring out how to deliver the backstory without disrupting the narrative. In my first draft, the story jumped back and forth in time to show teenage-Catharine’s pregnancy, her grim experience at the maternity home, and her postpartum depression, versus adult-Catharine’s infertility, failing marriage, and search for her daughter. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to work with a talented developmental editor who helped me see that the “back and forth” method was hurting the story more than it was helping it. She suggested that adult-Catharine’s story flow linearly with the backstory woven in. I knew it was good advice, but I also knew that I would have to rewrite about 85% of the book. And after spending 2 years writing the first draft, the prospect of an extensive rewrite made me wonder if I should just give up and start a new project. There was just one problem: I was still very passionate about the story and didn’t want to abandon it.
Instead of giving up, I stepped away from the project for a month or two, during which time I cleared my head, mulled over my editor’s feedback, and recharged my batteries. When I finally felt ready to tackle the revision, I reworked my outline until I had a clear vision of what I wanted to accomplish. The rewrite and additional editing took another year, but the book is much stronger as a result, and I know in my heart it was the right decision.
Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of having written this book?
Researching Empty Arms allowed me to connect with a number of birthmothers who went through a similar experience. Hearing about the shame they faced during their pregnancies, the heartache of losing their babies, and the struggle to locate their grown children was fascinating, educational, and heartbreaking all at the same time. And each and every story reminded me why Empty Arms needed to be written.
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Empty Arms is now available at an e-bookstore near you, and the paperback is due out in December. For more information, please visit www.erikaliodice.com.
Watch the book trailer.
A special message from Erika…
I’m donating 10% of the proceeds from Empty Arms to Save the Children, because at the heart of every adoption story is a child. Sadly, there are millions of children around the world who don’t have a family to love them, clothes to keep them warm, food to nourish their growing bodies, a safe place to sleep, medicine to keep them healthy, or a decent education so they can thrive in this world. I’m proud to be supporting this fine charity through the sales of my novel. Together we can help save the children.
Kathleen Bolton is co-founder of Writer Unboxed. She writes under a variety of pseudonyms, including Ani Bolton.
She has written two novels as Cassidy Calloway: Confessions of a First Daughter, and Secrets of a First Daughter–both books in a YA series about the misadventures of the U.S. President’s teen-aged daughter, published by HarperCollins, and Tamara Blake, for the novel Slumber.
May The Force be with you. Your dedication to the worthy story is inspiring.
Thanks for the support, Alex! It’s a worthy story, indeed!
beautiful .. really beautiful story of the backstory .. I know someone who experienced this tragedy. It is unspeakable.
This is so inspiring. I can only imagine how heart breaking it was to have to rewrite so much of your work– but your passion pulled you through. I think it’s incredible that you are also donating 10% of the proceeds to an amazing, relevant cause. I can’t wait to read your book now.
Raquel – Yes, rewriting most of the book was a real drag at the time, but I felt I knew the story so much better the second time around and I think it enabled me to give it more depth than I did in my first draft. So ultimately, it was a worthwhile endeavor.
I know the feeling, of pondering starting a new project, but still feeling too passionate about the last one. The time you spent before the rewrite was time well spent, I think.
I know exactly who I want to buy your book for, Erika. What a wonderful idea, and a generous gift for Save the Children. Congrats, and good luck!
Vaughn – I’m so pleased you have someone who you feel would enjoy my book…I hope they do! And yes, I’m so happy to be donating a portion of the proceeds to a good cause. It allows me to follow 2 dreams at once :)
What a beautiful interview on a heartbreaking subject. I’m adopted, but I was adopted by my stepmother and lived with my dad and adoptive stepmom. I know who my birth-mother is. And even with that, I know the underlying emotions and hurts that come when a mother gives up a child–but from the child’s pov. I can’t imagine the feeling of giving up your child, what a heartbreak it must be for many of the mothers.
Kathryn – I am constantly amazed at how many people have been touched by adoption. Many of the stories are so heartbreaking, which added to my determination to see this book through to completion. I’d be interested to hear what you think of Empty Arms given your personal experience :)
So happy to hear more about the process of writing and researching the book. I had never heard of the “Baby Scoop.” There was a nar my hometown, who did this. I look forward to reading the book. I can’t wait to see how you handle the subject. And, very nice to help Save the Children.
Stacy – Like you, I hadn’t heard of the Baby Scoop Era until I started researching Empty Arms. When I discovered how many young women went through this awful experience, I was shocked, angry, and saddened. I hope you enjoy the book!
Congratulations Erika! Your perseverance has paid off beautifully!
Thanks for being a great support along the way, Suzanne! I hope you enjoy the book!
Wow, this book sounds great — and important too. I will definitely be buying a copy. Thanks for giving us the inside scoop, and big congrats to our WU/RU girl Erika! :)
Also, this problem is still happening in other countries, including many in Asia. :(
An important story, indeed, Kristan! Thanks for mentioning that this is still a problem in Asia…what a tragedy.
Erika,
Congratulations on the publication of your first novel. I love the story. Thanks for sharing your journey, especially how you wove the back story into the narrative. That always poses a problem for writers. I can’t wait to read your book. Best of luck.
Thanks, CG. I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only writer who battles with backstory :)
Sounds like a fascinating book, Erika. I am going to buy the e-book and read it.
Awesome, Bernadette! I hope you like it!
Happy reading…
This sounds fabulous, Erika, and probably a therapeutic read for many women. Good for you for persisting!
I love everything about this story, and that includes the very motivational and inspiring” real story behind the story!” Sincere congratulations to you Erika, for hanging-in and reaping the rewards of perseverance. You make us proud :-)
Many thanks, Barbara! You just put a huge smile on my face :)))
Erika, I’ve just started reading the story, and I’m really enjoying your voice and the flow. Bravo to you for persevering!