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Janis F. Kearney

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In This Issue:

Q&A - Something to Write Home About

Q&A - Once Upon a Time There was a Girl

A Questions and Answers Session with Janis F. Kearney, author of Something to Write Home About: Memories from a Presidential Diarist

QYour first Memoir, Cotton Field of Dreams was centered on your coming of age in the pre-civil rights south. And, though your childhood mirrored the lives of other black families during that time, few black youths today—whether they reside in the south, or other parts of the country—can identify with such an existence of dire poverty. Your new memoir, Something to Write Home About, also strains believability for most black Americans, as you write about your role serving as a diarist to the President of the United States. What is the correlating thread between these two stories, and these two levels of existence?

AYou are so right. Cotton Field of Dreams, and this second memoir do represent two extreme opposites of existence—at one extreme, my environment was poverty and need; in the other, I am surrounded by power. Yet, in fact, they both prove one truism—the American dream is alive and well. I am saddened to know so many young people no longer believe there is such a thing available to them. I'm always hopeful, though, that many of them will realize that no one person or group of people have claim to the American dream. It's up for grabs, to any of us willing to go for it. It doesn't matter if you're dreaming about making it to the end of the week with a few dollars in your pocket, or one day working for the President of the United States. My life story proves this is as true today, as it was one hundred years ago.

QOn January 20, 2001, you and hundreds of others left the White House, as a new President and his aides took over. You had served in the administration for the entire eight years—five of those years inside the White House as the personal diarist to President Clinton. What was it like to step outside of that kind of experience, back into the "real," world?

AIt was such an amazing eight years for us. And, then came the end of it. First, none of us expected to be turning over the White House to the new President, and I think that was the first shocker. But, then came the actual walking out of that bubble. What an unexpected experience, those six or eight months afterwards. I think most of us were hoping we could just close the door to our offices or cubicles; turn in our blue badges, say goodbye to those civil servants who would stay behind, and not ever really have to think about the experience again, unless we chose to.

The opposite is what actually happens. Working in the White House, or for a President... for most of the people I worked with; it changes your life for that time in big and small ways. It is almost true that you breathe a different air. That position is the reason you get up each morning; what keeps your adrenaline pumping. And, even while we all thought we were prepared—had actually started preparing months earlier; January 20th is still a surprise. It was as if our lives came to an abrupt halt. On January 21, we were suddenly at a very strange, awkward, almost painful juncture in our lives, knowing we had to move forward—but not really having the inertia to do so. We hadn't realized how much of everything we'd devoted to that place and time. It absolutely takes most people six months, to get the experience out of their systems; to move forward, to get on with life, realigning with people and places that were a part of your life before the White House experience.

QWhat was the greatest challenge for you, as a woman and a minority who worked in the White House, and for the Clinton Administration? What advice would you give young women who are drawn to politics or government?

AI wish I could tell you something concrete such as blatant racism or sexism...those things we all know still exist, but I can honestly say I wasn't aware of it on a day-to-day basis. My challenges were more personal, like being able to maintain who I was in the midst of what I found myself in the middle of. I don't mean the negative things that came and went, but side effects of that aphrodisiac-like allure of power and prestige. Those things that can taint your integrity, and your sense of who you really are, if we're not careful. As I said earlier, it is actually a little like breathing a different air. Even when you may not believe there is anything special about you, others are convinced there must be; and begin to treat you that way. So, simply keeping my head, and making sure my feet stayed on solid ground...that was my challenge: remembering from whence I came, and how many people had sacrificed so that I could sit where I sat each day. My challenge was to constantly remind myself that I wasn't there because I was so special, or smart or indispensable.

What would I advise young women seeking roles in politics or government? I'd say Hurrah! Go for it, and never let anyone tell you that you can't or shouldn't pursue your goal. America needs more good politicians and a more diverse array of good politicians. Women have to be committed, they have to be willing to learn, and willing to work very, very hard. With those values in place, there is no reason they can't do or be whatever they desire.

QWhy did you take seven years to write this second installment of your memoir?


A Actually, I began working on this book immediately after I left the White House. It just turned out that I had two other books already in the hopper that needed to be told first. As publisher of a small press, in addition to being the primary author; I find myself making decisions constantly as to which stories have to be told, and when. It's as if I'm placing them on a mental assembly line and plucking them off only when that little voice tells me their time has come. I must say, there are lots of reasons I believe this story is important now—in the midst of so much dismal news, and hopelessness. I pray that my story touches young people; that those interested in politics find some redemption here, and come away knowing that there is so much good "mere" politicians can do if only they will.

QYou compare your time in the White House to Alice In Wonderland. In the story Alice follows a "mysterious white rabbit" into a mysterious world "populated by peculiar creatures." Was there a mystic in President Clinton that was different from that of Governor Clinton? Also, was there something that stood out in your mind (good or bad) that was especially "peculiar" about the Clinton administration?

AI compare it to Alice in Wonderland in two different contexts, but the white rabbit is really my challenge to my sense of discovery, exploration—of getting outside my 30+ year comfort zone. Leaving Arkansas, and moving to a place like D.C. was a major, major cultural leap. Here I was in my late 30s', finding myself in a whole new world—having to learn the complex "take no enemies" political culture, that would now be my life, 24-7. So, that was the Alice I was, at one level. And, then, at another level; the change was more of an intrinsic upheaval. The "me" I'd always been, was being forced to change to some extent, simply for survival; while I was fighting hard to hold onto the lessons and the values I'd always held onto. I knew I would have to get up each day and do the things I was brought to D.C. to do, and accept that nothing would be as it had been in the past—the experiences, the level of friendships and family I was accustomed to, none of that was here. As Alice likely was, I was afraid and early on, often sad. But, at the same time, there was an undeniable excitement about this change. I was challenged, and I bet there isn't much difference in me and Alice, in how we love challenges.

QHow would you describe that magical bridge that took you from Varner Road to 1600 Pennsylvania? Is that a bridge that other blacks and women have access to...no matter where they begin their journey?

AYes, yes that same bridge I crossed can be crossed from any point in the universe, by anyone willing to cross it. It doesn't matter where you begin. But, it does matter who you begin your journey with; what takes place during those earliest years in your starting place. It doesn't matter if you start out in the cotton fields, or the Appalachian mountains, or the Indian reservations, or right on the other side of the Mexican border...the bridge is permanent, sitting there waiting for you. Dreams, hopes, hard work...and, yes, prayer; are the things that will help you cross that bridge. There's really nothing magic about any of that.

QIn reading Cotton Field of Dreams, we know there were so many invaluable lessons from Varner Road that you took along with you throughout your journey. But, what are some lessons you learned, and took with you when you left the White House in 2001?

A The greatest lesson was an appreciation, and better understanding of politics. Here was something I'd never held much appreciation for, even though I'd grown up listening to my father talk about politics constantly. He loved politics, and had an innate understanding of it, but the part of politics he shared with us was more of the negatives about how it was used against so many people. I understood that, and I formulated my disdain for politics based on that. So, as a young adult, I had no real respect for politicians. I laid most of this country's ills at the feet of the people I considered either weak or dishonest politicians. The opportunity to see firsthand that there is such a thing as good politics was a wonderful evolution; especially to be able to share with my Dad, what good politics was doing for everyday people like us. That was a great and important lesson for me.

The second most important lesson was not a new one; but working inside the White House bubble gave me a good opportunity to relearn it: Every man puts on his pants one leg at a time. Simply put, we're born, we live, and we die. No one, no matter how smart, how beautiful, how rich, how powerful does it any other way. So, how in the world does one person get to call themselves greater than someone else, and based on what? I often say the greatest lesson I learned in going to an integrated school was that white skin didn't make others smarter or harder working, or nicer. Working at the White House taught me that power doesn't make a person great. We're all human beings, blessed or cursed with different opportunities, and even how we choose to use those opportunities doesn't raise us up beyond being simply human.

A Question/Answer Session with J.F. Kearney, Author, Once Upon a Time There was a Girl: A Murder at Mobile Bay

QWhat initially inspired you to write this story?


AI think most writers can relate to this fact: no story remains "as is" throughout the process of writing it. This story started out something quite different—closer to a real murder case that I knew quite well. One in which I knew the family of the victim. I wanted to write that story because in meeting them, and some of the people of that town I saw how that one murder had in many ways torn the town apart—left questions and doubts in its wake.

But, writing is such a powerful medium. The process made me realize that I should leave that story where it lay, that I was in fact honoring that family in another way by telling a completely fictional tale about a murder in a special town.

QWhy did you write a novel where the lead character is white? Do you consider Tom Mallory white? Does his character?

APolice Chief Tom Mallory is an extremely interesting, complex character—and those kinds of characters come in all colors. He is considered white, although he has a black great grandmother, and a rich Louisiana Cajun ancestry. So, we see he is a hybrid of cultures. But, his whiteness is important to this story more so, because the victim is black, and the town has a history of trying to bypass the pain of racial conflicts. This is a very pivotal time for the town, and for Tom. I simply needed that contrast to play up some emotions and conflicts.

QDo you believe the townspeople of Daphne did Angel Jackson a disservice by their collective infatuation with her, and her living among them as an object of their enchantment?

AThis is an interesting question because I hadn't thought of it that way, at all. I do know she struggled to "grow up," in her mother's eyes—and there is some sense that her mother, in particular, wants to hold onto her daughter's innocence…keep her the "little black Angel" she'd been as a child. And, yes, the townspeople are also enchanted with the young woman, who most see as a cross between a woman and a child. They are drawn to her innocence, and goodness; and, in a way I think they believed that her goodness would protect her. Maybe this is the reason they find such personal pain in her death, and why they grapple so with such an unlikely murder as hers.

QOther than Chief Mallory, who are the heroes in this story? There is a cast of five characters whose lives are intertwined; but who stands out as the person who will play the most important role in pulling the community past this tragedy?

AI would have to say that while Angel's mother, Clarice, is the most vulnerable, and has been hit hardest by this tragedy; she is also a strong character. She can be a catalyst for change in the community on many levels. We see her finally accept some hard truths about what she could have done differently as a mother. That gives me hope that she can now take that next step of forgiving and moving past the tragedy, to help mend the community. I think she will work closely with Mayor Simmonds, Reverend Manley and Chief Mallory to make Daphne as good or better than it was before this tragedy.

QStan Allen, the young man who turns out to be Angel's love interest plays an almost behind the scenes role in your story. Yet, it is Stan who lingers in Angel's mind even as she travels to her death on that night on Mobile Bay? What does he bring to this story?

AStan Allen, though he is most certainly a virile man who has stolen the heart of our young Angel, is also a metaphor for Angel's metamorphosis. Amazingly, this 21-year old woman chooses as her first romantic liaison, a very handsome, married man who happens to be having undisclosed problems at home. A statement is being made, and whether she would have eventually confronted her parents with this stark change or not, we're not sure. But, we know that she is using this relationship to help break free of Clarice's suffocating love.

QWhat can we expect in your next installation of the Cajun Lawman Books? Will Chief Mallory still be around? What about the other characters?

AChief Tom Mallory is the only recurring character for the Cajun Lawman Books. His role will continue to evolve, and readers will learn a little more about him, and about his past in each of the books. The site of his work might very well change, or even the time period of his life; but he will always be the focal point of the Cajun Lawman Books.

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