So that’s obviously not the train of thought I have when writing a novel. And so I wanted to make sure that I was maintaining the integrity of everything that we had been through. But in addition to the shock of making characters out of people in my real life, I would say the only other sort of fear was making sure that I was representing my family and my parents in the right way because I do understand that it took an incredible amount of trust for them, especially my mother, to let me tell our story. That was startling, definitely a stunning experience. I think that what really stuck out to me is the obvious restraint and fear and anxiety that would come from creating characters out of people you know-your family members and yourself-and how incredibly intimate it is to sort of dissect your own characteristics and habits in ways that you would a character in a novel. But because I was working on them simultaneously, I can’t say that there was a dramatic difference in the craft portion. And this is like the memoir first draft, I should say, because obviously subsequent drafts were done after the novel came out. And then during the editing phase of the memoir, I was still working on the end bits of the novel. While I was writing the novel, I was writing and, of course, living the memoir. well, I mean, it’s a totally different genre. What has it been like switching from fiction to writing something much. This time you’re back, though, with a memoir. I have a Blind Book Date situation for our podcast over in our Etsy store, and it’s actually one of the books that I send people the most because it’s a beautiful novel. Kendra: I really loved your debut, She Would Be King.

This week on Reading Women, Kendra talks to Wayétu Moore about her memoir The Dragons, the Giant, the Women, which is out now from Graywolf Press.

She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore