On the dilemma so many memoir writers face: Should I publish or not publish? And, What about my family? How will they react?

“It wasn’t until my mother and the rest of her generation died that I seriously considered publishing The Burning Light of Two Stars. Deciding to put it out into the world required agonizing soul-searching. I was no longer that young woman whose attitude was, “Fuck them. I’m telling the truth and they’re in denial.” Now, 33 years later, I cared about the relationships I’d rebuilt. I recognized how hard it is, as a private person, to have a writer in the family — especially one who repeatedly dredges up the past….

After wrestling with this dilemma for years, I chose to publish — to become an author again. The day I signed the book contract, I sat down and wrote my relatives a letter, informing them about The Burning Light of Two Stars and apologizing for the impact it would have on their lives.”