I believe every one of us possesses a fundamental right to tell our own story.
It troubles me that people speak about writing for money as ugly and distasteful.
If a man wishes to truly not be written about, he would do well not to write letters to 18-year-old girls, inviting them into his life.
My job is writing. I get paid to do it. When was the last time you heard someone challenge a doctor for making money off of cancer?
I have long observed that the act of writing is viewed, by some, as an elite and otherworldly act, all the more so if a person isn't paid for what she writes.
When people ask what I write about, that's what I tell them: 'The drama of human relationships.' I'm not even close to running out of material.
The vehemence with which certain critics have chosen not simply to criticize what I've written, but to challenge my writing this story at all, speaks of what the book is about: fear of disapproval.
As for me, I've chosen to follow a simple course: Come clean. And wherever possible, live your life in a way that won't leave you tempted to lie. Failing that, I'd rather be disliked for who I truly am than loved for who I am not. So, I tell my story. I write it down. I even publish it. Sometimes this is a humbling experience. Sometimes it's embarrassing. But I haul around no terrible secrets.
