Why New Orleans Matters is in!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I was afraid that it would be filled with lists and statistics about hurricane Katrina, and no heart behind them. I am very impressed. Piazza has very close emotional ties to New Orleans and they show through in his writing. The restaurants and names that he mentions are run by friends and loved ones. When he talks about their destruction it is very personal. So far there aren't any numbers, there are only people and their stories of survival. I can sympathize with people, but I feel nothing for lists and data collections.This is definitely better than I expected.

He writes about life in New Orleans, the food, the music and the spirit.

Book Club! (Just Kidding)

This post is supposed to be about my book club. But to do that I would have to have gotten my book. It is currently in transit. I expect to be getting it very soon, but soon unfortunately isn't now. Luckily, I did manage to interview my roommate! It went very well considering I didn't know how it would turn out. It took much longer to get this interview than I expected. Its difficult to get rid of a third roommate for a few hours of privacy when you need to complete an interview. I learned a lot about depression and a bit about Lauren. Ive still got plenty of research to do and I may have to talk to her again while I draft the piece. I feel like I have gotten a good start though.

Ideas for My Profile

Luckily, my roommate has agreed to help me out with this. I understand that no one wants to read the cliché “Best Roommate in the World” piece so I’m going to try my best to keep this from turning into one. Instead I plan to interview her with the goal of learning a bit more about her. Hopefully we will be able to understand each other a little bit better after the work is finished.

Lauren is clinically depressed. It’s sometimes difficult for me to empathize with her because I have had no personal experience with depression. But, I have lived with her for nearly two years now. It has been a learning experience in itself. There are some days when she feels physically ill. Suicide had often crossed her mind. Many people give up fighting depression. Suicide is unfortunately a common occurrence. Lauren refuses to give up. Instead she takes medication that come with a host of physical side effects that also render her ill. She is seeking the guidance of a counselor and joins clubs like GLBTA despite having days when she would rather stay in bed. This will not be a piece about sympathizing with a patient. This will be a piece about Lauren refusing to give up.

The Profile

I believe the profile will be one of the few non-fiction pieces that I enjoy writing about. It’s personal in a way that escapes some non-fiction pieces. The goal is to understand the person being profiled. It’s not a list of achievements, or a narrative of some specific event. It tries to go deeper into how the person feels about the event. Or what motivated him or her to go above and beyond to create such an impressive resume. The character becomes someone that the audience can relate to and try to understand. That is what interests me when I read or write. Details and facts are nothing if the piece is cold the author has remained completely detached from the subject.