Interview with Meg Wolitzer, author of The Ten Year Nap by Catherine Clifford of YourOnRamp.
Catherine: Thanks for taking the time to talk today. Can you tell us why you wrote The Ten Year Nap?
Meg: I am a fiction writer and felt that the complexities of mothers taking a break to care for children were under-represented in fiction today. I really did not set out to write a sociological book, or to take a stand on the “Mommy Wars.” Even so, the public really wants writers to do that. I guess I shouldn’t be, but I’ve been surprised by the ardent, personal response. It just reminds us that this is a tough and tender topic. The good news is it forces people to talk. I also think that women become in some ways invisible and vulnerable when they leave their careers to take care of kids. You’re no longer defined by your work. We’ve all had that experience when you’re asked at a cocktail party, “What you do?”
Catherine: So since you set out not to take a stand, what was your goal with your characters and the book?
Meg: I came down, finally, on the side of purpose. I think most women—and men as well—want to be guided by purpose. I also think the book is about class and money. I set the stage in Manhattan, a bed of affluence, but my characters are not simply ladies who lunch. They have anxieties about money and about how their choices affect their family: “What if I work three days a week? Can I afford to take one more year off?”
Catherine: Have you read the Feminine Mistake?
Meg: I have the book but have not really read it. I did not want my novel to be swayed by the views of others. I’m relieved that as a fiction writer I don’t have to support my words with facts and figures.
