Q&A with Heather D Haigh
We have a piece of epistolary fiction this week! Writing in the form of letters is often such a gateway into something especially honest and evocative. “Letters to Mams” by Heather D Haigh is no exception. Read below for an interview between Haigh and one of our fiction editors, Laura Jensen.
Something that really drew me to this story was how exceptionally you wrote from the perspective of a child, which is no easy thing to do. What did you find easy or challenging about this? Did you do anything to prepare? Were there certain choices you made in language to really emphasize the perspective?
This piece came about while exploring my own childhood through therapy. Although the work is fiction, it comes from personal emotional truth. I drew on my inner child to find the voice.
This story is written through letters, which really shifts the tone and experience of a piece. What was your strategy behind writing this narrative entirely through unsent letters?
I took the common advice about writing a letter to someone as a way of letting go of hurt and developed that into the concept for a story. I needed a way to show what help Anna wanted, but to maintain her sense of isolation.
There’s a lot of heaviness in this story, and while the real abuse is coming from Anna’s mother, I was also very struck by Anna’s relationship with the other mothers. They each give her a glimpse of maternal warmth, but they also keep themselves distant in some way. As the reader, it’s hard not to feel maternal towards Anna, but you’re also just a bystander that doesn’t intervene on her behalf. Addressing other mothers in the letters adds a new layer to Anna’s experience. Is this narrative choice something that developed while writing, or was this your plan all along? How do you feel it changes the story?
I used the letters as a device to express what Anna needed from a mother, but I also tried to convey a conflict between her longing for love and her need for independence—her way to avoid the shame of others' critical opinions. But by the same token, other people, if not judgmental, are often wary of intruding or of being dragged too deep into a difficult situation.
How does “Letters to Mams” compare to the rest of your writing? Was the style and subject something new for you, or are you drawn to writing similar, emotionally driven stories?
My writing is eclectic. I enjoy investigating anything that takes my interest and trying out various genres and styles of writing. I write a few pieces as catharsis or related to self-exploration. Letters to Mams was one of those pieces. Right now, I'm trying my hand at a horror story—something I'm finding challenging
Are there any particular authors that inspire your writing?
My reading is also very varied. I am inspired by so many authors in different ways. Off the top of my head, some favourites are: Delia Owens, Jim Butcher, Katherine Rundell, Jojo Moyes, Kate Elizabeth Russell, Erin Morgenstern, Peter V. Brett, Nicholas Sparks, Ray Bradbury … I should probably stop now. This could get very long.
The last two lines of “Letters to Mams” are killer. Holding Anna’s signoff until the very end made it all the more impactful. Once readers get to the end of the story, what are you hoping sticks with them?
I wanted the ending to give Anna a tiny voice and suggest she had the capacity to find love through the expression of her own needs. I guess if anything in the story sticks with anyone, I would hope it to be the thought that gentle, non-judgmental support can go a long way.
