Unveiling Hidden Secrets: Marty Ross-Dolen’s Quest to Unlock a Daughter’s Haunting Truths
LL: Lately, I’ve read several books in which the author is attempting to recreate a life. Maybe one they knew, but from a distance. I’m curious what you think the draw might be? Is it the hunger to know, to understand, to heal? Something else?
MRD: That’s such an interesting question. I guess I would say that as humans we are always drawn to the other for the purpose of better understanding ourselves. We compare and contrast. We search for similarities. We identify our likes and dislikes, our styles and aesthetics, our values, opinions, and philosophies, all through bouncing them off those we know in person or those we know through story. When it comes to wanting to know our ancestors in a way that humanizes them, that pulls them out of the photograph or the saved letter, I believe we are motivated by a need to ground ourselves in our own eras, finding purpose in our own existence through a deeper understanding of the lives that preceded and paved paths for us. Knowing my grandmother has led to a more profound knowing of myself.