Joyce Maynard discusses her book, “The Usual Rules.” She begins by explaining that she wanted to explore how the events of September 11th took normal lives and threw them into turmoil. She then discusses the characters and the plot, which begins with the teenager Wendy who looses her mother in the twin towers. Maynard shares that she wanted to explore the process of healing and the various shapes a family can take. She goes on to explain how the events of her own life, such as, divorce and raising her children as a single mother, influenced her writing. Later she goes on to say that she wanted to make the children in the novel complex and fully developed because she feels that too often books and films depict children as one-dimensional.
September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 - Fiction Fathers and daughters - Fiction Loss (Psychology) - Fiction Mothers - Death - Fiction Teenage girls - Fiction Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) - Fiction California - Fiction
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
