Rachel Aviv

She and I had conversations about that where I would say, like, I'm worried I'm slipping into that state that the siblings are in where you seem to be thriving. Your daughter just said you have this incredible joy for life. You do seem to have this incredible joy. I mean, something she said to me that I found really profound was...

She and I had conversations about that where I would say, like, I'm worried I'm slipping into that state that the siblings are in where you seem to be thriving. Your daughter just said you have this incredible joy for life. You do seem to have this incredible joy. I mean, something she said to me that I found really profound was...

One of the letters from the 70s that Alice wrote was about being raped by a colleague. First, she says she was so numb that she just walked aimlessly around the city and missed the class she was supposed to teach that day. And then later on, she says, well, we'll make a good story.

One of the letters from the 70s that Alice wrote was about being raped by a colleague. First, she says she was so numb that she just walked aimlessly around the city and missed the class she was supposed to teach that day. And then later on, she says, well, we'll make a good story.

Yeah. But Andrea said, you know, when I read that letter, at first I kind of felt pain for my mother because I know that feeling of, you know, aimlessly walking around the city. And then she said the next feeling I had was rage that like she did a day of that and sort of moved on to have this incredibly productive life. And I still feel like I'm walking aimlessly around the city. Yeah.

Yeah. But Andrea said, you know, when I read that letter, at first I kind of felt pain for my mother because I know that feeling of, you know, aimlessly walking around the city. And then she said the next feeling I had was rage that like she did a day of that and sort of moved on to have this incredibly productive life. And I still feel like I'm walking aimlessly around the city. Yeah.

I think what was hardest for her was watching Jenny receive the prize from the king of Sweden because Alice was too weak at that point to go to Sweden. And she felt like, oh, you know, the family really is happier that I'm not in it. Now they can live this one reality together.

I think what was hardest for her was watching Jenny receive the prize from the king of Sweden because Alice was too weak at that point to go to Sweden. And she felt like, oh, you know, the family really is happier that I'm not in it. Now they can live this one reality together.

A question that feels almost more alive to me is the way that her writing makes you think about art at what expense. Not to sort of deny that it's art and that it has value as art, but to think about what existed in its wake, sort of who was harmed, what was sacrificed. And that's probably a question that is relevant for many artists, but Alice Munro kind of makes it visible on the page.

A question that feels almost more alive to me is the way that her writing makes you think about art at what expense. Not to sort of deny that it's art and that it has value as art, but to think about what existed in its wake, sort of who was harmed, what was sacrificed. And that's probably a question that is relevant for many artists, but Alice Munro kind of makes it visible on the page.

Like, it felt so literal, like, you know, trading your daughter for art.

Like, it felt so literal, like, you know, trading your daughter for art.

Not as if it were necessarily a conscious decision, but I think Alice did speak with a lot of self-awareness about how she abandoned her mother as she was dying because she felt like she couldn't be the person she wanted to be if she was a good daughter. And that person was a writer.

Not as if it were necessarily a conscious decision, but I think Alice did speak with a lot of self-awareness about how she abandoned her mother as she was dying because she felt like she couldn't be the person she wanted to be if she was a good daughter. And that person was a writer.

Her own mother who was dying, who had Parkinson's.

Her own mother who was dying, who had Parkinson's.

But the repetition, I think that she could speak very honestly and with a lot of self-awareness about how she had to abandon her own mother to become a writer, that I'm sort of feeling that there was a certain awareness probably about how she also abandoned her daughter to be the writer she became.

But the repetition, I think that she could speak very honestly and with a lot of self-awareness about how she had to abandon her own mother to become a writer, that I'm sort of feeling that there was a certain awareness probably about how she also abandoned her daughter to be the writer she became.

I mean, I feel horrified. I feel horrified that it's hard because like, you know, what would she say? Did she think the work is more important? Is that just sort of what the decision she made?

I mean, I feel horrified. I feel horrified that it's hard because like, you know, what would she say? Did she think the work is more important? Is that just sort of what the decision she made?