Unpacked
PEI
Author Mo Duffy Cobb’s debut offering, Unpacked:
From PEI to Palawan, is a travel memoir of a
young family, brokenhearted and hungry for change, that take off on an around
the world journey of love and redemption. Recently we spoke with the scribe
about the work.
When and why did you
want to be a writer?
I've
always wanted to be a writer, from about Grade 8 on. I knew I was passionate
about it and I had fun with it, but I didn't know if I would ever be good at
it. After I completed BAs in Literature and Education, I journaled furiously.
It wasn't until I attended my first Memoir workshop that I started dedicating
myself to making writing a daily practice in a funny and sweet little blog I
called, "FurtherMo:
A blog of Exploratory Proportions." The blog allowed me to
become comfortable in the medium in a very low-stakes way. Eventually, Nova
Scotia author Christy Ann Conlin told me I should do a Masters in Fine Arts in
Creative Nonfiction, which I pursued at Vermont College of Fine Arts. That's
when things started to really flourish. As for why, my intention was
always to record my thoughts and feelings for posterity. But the more I wrote,
the more my essays became loaded with messages. Whether it was about my
daughter growing up faster than I did, or my struggles around losing a baby, my
essay style seemed to resonate with people. They all seemed to carry this
emotional charge.
Are they the same
reasons you do it today?
Today
I am tackling more and more complex issues, but most around pre-determined
settings of structure and craft. Working as a freelance writer has given me
confidence and variability. I am now comfortable with this narrative voice that
has weight, that once seemed flighty and unsettled. I still write my way
through the darkness - from places of anxiety, of vulnerability. I am less
motivated to create perfect pieces for publication, because I know now that it
is the practice of writing that is important. That practice is something that
is deeply personal, that is inspired by my life's experiences, and that stays
with me. Headlines come and go, although it is nice to have a few, now and
then.
What inspired you to
write Unpacked?
Unpacked was inspired by a
cold wintry day in March, 2008. My husband and I were pregnant with our second
child, who arrived to this world stillborn due to a cord accident. The next few
weeks and months were tumultuous as we decided how to move forward. We decided
to take our daughter - who was two at the time - to Europe and Southeast Asia
for the year, to move through the stages of grief together as a family and to
wander shores, carve paths in jungles, and absorb languages and currencies in
real time, all while giving us the time to heal from our family's loss. I
became motivated to write about it when I realized how much meat there was
there, the young family's incredible journey coupled with the mom's interior
landscape of loss. How would she, how could she, move on.
What was the most challenging
aspect of the process?
The
most challenging aspect of the book was, for one, taking myself back to those
private spaces of slowed time. Writing about the night we lost Tya, and taking
responsibility for the conflicts that arose with the people around me, those
were the most emotionally challenging aspects of the book. The
other challenge of the memoir was structural, the arrangement of chapters and
the strategic positioning of when memories should be revealed to the reader.
There was this overarching awareness that the reader would need a lot of time
to process what's happening to the narrator, too.
What was the most
rewarding part of the experience?
The
most rewarding part of the experience for me was my publication story. I spent
almost two years querying the story to everyone who would listen, but the
reality was that not a lot was known about the "marketability" of the
book - who my main audience would be felt a little uncertain to many
publishers. I decided to take a chance and signed up for Word on The Street's
"Pitch the Publisher" nonfiction competition. It's a public event,
and I got three minutes at the mic to pitch my story to a panel of publishers:
Susan Alexander of Goose Lane, James Lorimer of Formac Publishing, and Lesley
Choyce of Pottersfield Press. The first two publishers said they weren't really
interested in publishing travel literature, and that it was too much of a
departure for them. But Lesley of Pottersfield said, "I do love
a good memoir," and I finally knew who to go after. The rest is
history.
What did you learn
during the process?
I
learned that I needed to trust the readers, and that they could trust me. That
meant being honest with myself, and in turn with them, that the story became a
realistic portrayal of events instead of the earlier drafts where
"everything was perfect." I also learned to distance myself from the
story, which was sometimes a challenge. But it's imperative when you're writing
creative nonfiction that while you may have a role in the story, it doesn't
need to always be about you. In fact, it's better when it's
not. It's that act of taking things from the personal to the universal that
really has the biggest impact on readers.
How did you feel when
the book was completed?
It
was major personal accomplishment territory, although I struggled with where
and how to end the story. I wrote the last chapter and the first chapter
together, to create a mirror for the narrator to reflect on. I felt great when
the original drafts where done, but it wasn't until the book was published that
I really began to feel like a "real writer".
What has the response
been like so far from those that have read it?
There
has been so much incredible feedback from readers thus far. I've gotten emails,
calls, and so many messages from people who just couldn't put the book down.
Friends have even confessed that they had to read all night, just to see what
happened! Many readers love the "armchair travel" feel to the book,
and of course want to share it with people in their own lives who have had
similar struggles with loss. I feel so blessed that I've been able to share
this journey with other Maritimers, and people around the country, too.
What makes a good book?
Being
able to laugh at yourself like Bill Bryson during the comedic and unruly nature
of travel. The honesty that brings people to tears. Poetics. Great
storytelling. The delicate - sometimes precarious - balance between internal
and external journey in memoir. A smash opening that hooks the reader.
Bravery. Amazing juxtaposition like Khaled Hosseini in A Thousand
Splendid Suns. Truthful, revealing characters in fiction, who are sometimes
painfully themselves (Anne of Green Gables). The flawed hero who is
finally able to rise above.
Verified account
Is your creative process
more 'inspirational' or 'perspirational'?
Most
of my work is deadline-oriented, so I would probably fall more on the
perspirational side! Especially with a young family, most times I am down
to the last days or last hours of writing before a piece is due. My magazine, Cargo Literary, publishes
transformational travel stories, and sometimes those deadlines can also get in
the way of creative work. My best essays, the most inspirational ones - I think
- are ones that simmer for weeks until there is either a way in or a way out,
until the angle is established or the arc completed. Then it's just time for
the words to pour onto the page.
What are your thoughts
on Atlantic Canada's literary scene?
I
serve on the Board of Directors for the PEI Writers Guild, and we have a
thriving literary scene here on PEI with workshops, open mics, retreats, and
writers socials. This year we partnered with Reading Town Canada to
celebrate our Island Literary Awards in May, which was almost a full week of
literary activities. There are also many opportunities for New Brunswick
writers to engage with the Arts with their WordSpring and WordsFall events, and
we're hoping to do more collaborative events with them in the future. And of
course, the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia also has many different events,
including Word on the Street in September. Atlantic Canada is a great place to
be creative because there is so much support for everything local.
What's next on your
creative agenda?
I
am hoping now to delve back into my favourite medium - the personal essay. It's
my hope that my next book will be a series of essays that will work with the
theme of coming of age as a Mom. I'm working a lot with expectation these days,
as I approach my later thirties: what I had planned, how I approach my
life now, and whether or not I will ever be settled in the future. All of these
remain questions. Cargo Literary will also be publishing its first Anthology
this year, our first time in print after nine digital issues so far, so I am
really looking forward to that.
