her. I spelled out the answer I knew she wanted to hear: 20 Yes. Always. 21 When I became a fiction writer in my 30s, I wrote a story 22 about a woman who killed herself eating too much opium. 23 After my mother read a draft of that story, she had tears in 24 her eyes. Now she had proof: My grandmother had talked 25 to me and told me her true story. How else could I have 26 known my grandmother had not died by accident but with 27 the fury of suicide? She asked me, "She here now?" I 28 answered honestly, "I don't know." 29 Over the years, I have included other details in my 30 writing I could not possibly have known on my own: a 31 place, a character, a song. I have come to feel differently 32 about my ghostwriters. Sometimes their clues have come 33 so plentifully, they've made me laugh like a child who can't 34 open birthday presents fast enough. I must say thanks, not 35 to blind luck but to my ghosts. 36 Notes: Ten years ago, I clearly saw a ghost, and she talked to 37 me. It was my mother. She had died just 24 hours before. 38 Her face was 10 times larger than life, in the form of a 39 moving, pulsing hologram of sparkling lights. My mother 40 was laughing at my surprise. She drew closer, and when 41 she reached me, I felt as if I had been physically punched in 42 the chest. It took my breath away and filled me with 43 something absolute: love, but also joy and peace — and 44
20 her. I spelled out the answer I knew she wanted to hear: 21 Yes. Always. 22 When I became a fiction writer in my 30s, I wrote a story 23 about a woman who killed herself eating too much opium. 24 After my mother read a draft of that story, she had tears in 25 her eyes. Now she had proof: My grandmother had talked 26 to me and told me her true story. How else could I have 27 known my grandmother had not died by accident but with 28 the fury of suicide? She asked me, "She here now?" I 29 answered honestly, "I don't know." 30 Over the years, I have included other details in my 31 writing I could not possibly have known on my own: a 32 place, a character, a song. I have come to feel differently 33 about my ghostwriters. Sometimes their clues have come 34 so plentifully, they've made me laugh like a child who can't 35 open birthday presents fast enough. I must say thanks, not 36 to blind luck but to my ghosts. Notes: 37 Ten years ago, I clearly saw a ghost, and she talked to 38 me. It was my mother. She had died just 24 hours before. 39 Her face was 10 times larger than life, in the form of a 40 moving, pulsing hologram of sparkling lights. My mother 41 was laughing at my surprise. She drew closer, and when 42 she reached me, I felt as if I had been physically punched in 43 the chest. It took my breath away and filled me with 44 something absolute: love, but also joy and peace — and
Fluency_Packet_6-8.docx