Behind the Pages: Shannon Luders Manuel Reveals the Untold Inspirations Behind The One Who Loves You
MDH: Did you feel any trepidation about how your mom would react to your memoir? She doesn’t always come across favorably — although she’s your advocate at key moments, she also frequently lets you down. Similarly with your Uncle Adam. How to write the truth about living family members is a huge dilemma for memoirists. Could you talk about the approach you chose to take?
SLM: I had my mom read the advanced readers’ copy before the book came out. That was in December, and the book came out in February. It was too late to make any changes, but I did that purposely. I didn’t show it to her when it was in the editing stage because I didn’t want to feel impeded. She and I have a good relationship, so I didn’t feel like I would run the risk of burning a bridge. It was more for me not to feel blocked.
