Interview with Linda Gambill, Author of The Geography of Desire

Q & A with Author Linda Gambill

1. What inspired you to write this book?

Even while living in The Gambia, I could see the narrative structure in events as they unfolded. It was almost uncanny. I thought, “Wow. My life is giving me a plot. One day I’ll have to write about it.”

Also, Westerners sometimes think of Africans as mere statistics in the latest political or health disaster, so I wanted readers to get to know the people who welcomed me into their midst—to see them as the interesting, funny, and wise individuals they are.

2. Can you tell us about the main characters and their development throughout the story?

In 1978, I was a lonely young woman stuck with a dead-end job, a nightly marijuana habit, and a troubled situationship with a former professor. I was desperate to explore the world and find my place in it, so I made good on a long-held dream. I joined the Peace Corps.

A year later, I arrive in Medina, a devout Muslim village in The Gambia, West Africa. I’m supposed to teach health and nutrition to the village women, but they don’t have any confidence in me. And why should they? I’m a young white woman without a husband or children, trying to change their ways. Instead of finding a sense of belonging, I get so anxious and depressed I can barely leave my hut.

Then tragedy strikes, and my perspective shifts from self-absorption to service. I learn the local language, make friends, and start a huge community project with the village women. I also fall in love with two very different men—a Polish doctor and a Gambian shopkeeper. I’m totally confused by my feelings, and it’s only when violence erupts that the course of my life becomes clear.

3. Did you have any challenges while writing this book? If so, what were they?

There were three main ones. The Geography of Desire isn’t a thriller, but I wanted it to be a page-turner. So I had to be very clear about what to include and what to cut. I cut all the scenes which, while interesting vignettes, didn’t contribute to the meaning of the whole.

The other challenges are really two sides of the same coin. To successfully write memoir, you have to dig deep to get at the emotional truth of your story. But you also have to get a certain amount of distance so you can examine your younger self from the viewpoint of your older, wiser self. That’s what allows readers to trust you—to see a person struggling to make their way to a deeper, more balanced truth.

4. What is your favorite scene in the book and why?

That’s like asking who my favorite child is. (Never mind that I only have one!) Some of the scenes are dark, like when I realize I’m always on the verge of tears in my village not only because of culture shock, but also because of unresolved grief. Other scenes are light, as when I’m wined and dined by two charming Polish men. All the scenes have their place.

5. Were there any specific books or authors that influenced your writing of this book?

Four memoirs stand out. The Liar’s Club by Mary Karr. Her prose is brilliant, and she takes you on an amazing journey of uncovering a well-hidden family secret. Stop-Time by Frank Conroy. His evocation of place—in this case, old Florida, is hard to beat. And Wild by Cheryl Strayed. That book made me both laugh and cry. Last, The Village of Waiting by George Packer. I think it was the first Peace Corps memoir I read.

As far as craft goes, I was deeply influenced by The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr and by The Situation and the Story by Vivian Gornick.

6. Can you talk about your writing process and how you approach writing a novel?

Writing this memoir was a messy process. I didn’t know what I was doing. All I’d ever written were emotional journal entries or formal academic papers. I started out writing a novel, got ¾ of the way through, and realized something wasn’t working, though I didn’t know what. So I got a mentor at the Writers Studio in NYC, and after working with her for a few months, I realized my novel needed to be a memoir. So I started over. I worked with her
for four years. Without the Writers Studio and my writers group, my manuscript would have never seen the light of day.

I’m a night owl—hello to night owls everywhere! I’m in awe of people who get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to write, but the very idea of rising before the sun freaks me out. I like to both plan and improvise. Next time I write a book, I’ll probably plan a bit more.

7. What was the most difficult part of writing this book?

Realizing that my novel needed to be a memoir. I’d never even read a memoir. It was a big learning curve.

8. Do you have any favorite quotes from the book?

“Africa takes you and turns you inside out, but what you come out of it with is your own.”

9. Can you give us a hint about what you’re working on next?

I like stories about people leaving home, especially women. My hometown of Oak Ridge, Tennessee started out as a military installation during WWII. It’s where we refined the uranium that went into the bomb that decimated Hiroshima. The place was a pressure cooker—people coming from all over the world to make an atomic bomb before the Nazis could. Some of those people were brilliant scientists, but many were young women who suddenly had the chance to leave their parents’ home without having to get married first. I want to write the story of three women whose lives intersect as they struggle to meet the challenges of work and love, patriotism and revenge.

10. How do you hope readers will feel after finishing your book?

Encouraged to take a risk, whatever that may be for them—to step into the unknown and be changed by it.

About the Author: