Interview with Jane Gallagher, Author of Reflections on Life’s Illusions

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Reflections on Life’s Illusions?

For a long time I’d been experiencing a vague sensation underneath my contented professional work and daily living patterns, telling me in that kind of knowing beyond words that a major life shift was on its way. Also, as I say in the book’s introduction, the story rose out of a concern for climate change, a problem that I and many others had been aware of since the ’70s, and one that had inspired me to do what I could over the course of a forty-year career to strengthen grassroots communities to address the multiple environmental and social challenges it raises. After months of trying to ignore that vague sense of impending change, I found myself looking at my work calendar for the next quarter, noticing once again that I had uncharacteristically failed to do the footwork I usually enjoyed to fill it with new consulting projects. Mentioning this odd state of affairs to my husband, he replied, “You know, you could retire if you wanted to,” something I’d never considered possible or desirable before. Looking at my finances and realizing he was right, I also suddenly understood what was silently demanding my attention. A sense of urgency was calling me to write that big picture story that no English teacher would ever approve as a workable topic. By choosing to retire, I could dive into the project without worrying about whether it was publishable. The writing process itself could be the primary focus. The story seemed to be calling for two things; learning what it means when authors describe how they let the book write itself, and in exploring that process discovering more deeply how we in the U.S. came to this challenging cultural tipping point. My own developmental story could be the centering theme around which to weave the narrative, coupled with an exploration of what we can wisely do to show up in this time.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

Both fiction and nonfiction of many varieties interest me, especially the relatively new genre of creative nonfiction, which is mostly what I ‘m writing these days. Reading and writing poetry also plays an important part in my life, although I’ve not yet tried to publish any of my own.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert, is a go-to book I’ve read more than once between projects. It’s proving its worth once again as an inspiring support for my daily writing practice. I’m also a big fan of Rebecca Solnit’s work, with Hope in the Dark in my current pile. Casting Indra’s Net, Fostering Spiritual Kinship and Community, by Pamela Ayo Yetunde is also there. Since I always read more than one book at a time, I’m also looking forward to the 2023 version of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins, having been fascinated and appalled by the story in the first edition that lacked numerous new chapters. Finally, I always want some good fiction to read before bed, usually discovered while browsing at my local library. I recently enjoyed Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett, in that category.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

Unfortunately, that’s impossible to answer since the whole writing process felt like a continuous flow, with each part delivering its own unique joys, challenges and discoveries.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

Perhaps it’s a bit quirky to admit that the most essential part of my office is not my desk, but the loveseat on which I always sit to write, laptop on lap, with various books and notes strewn next to me, along with a note pad and pen, just in case…

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Something like that might be described this way: Be as present and aware as possible in every moment of your life so that you can respond to each situation with as much wisdom and kindness as you have the capacity to muster.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

That none of us is separate from nature or any other being, raising the importance of self-reflection and its capacity to reveal choices between multiple stories about wise responses to any situation, some that hold inspiring, life-giving potential and others that do not.

Jane Gallagher is the author of the new book Reflections on Life’s Illusions

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