On Oct. 15, award-winning author Maisy Card, she read a chapter from her novel “These Ghosts Are Family,” at Detroit Mercy, which was followed by a conversation led by author Jazmine Ortavia Cooper.
Card revealed the extensive journey behind her novel, a venture she has devoted 14 years to developing. During the discussion, she opened up on how the story behind the novel took shape gradually, as she gathered more information and did research about her family’s history.
“Over time, I started to learn these things about my family that I had not known,” Card said. “I had to go back and rewrite to change major character plots based on what I have learned. I did intentionally want to mirror my experience.”
What started as a simple narrative shortly expanded into a multi-faceted story as she started to uncover new details.
As the discovery began, it not only enriched the novel, but it also strengthened her comprehension of her family’s heritage, infusing the work with deep personal understanding.
“How have you thought about ghosts in your own family and ancestors you cannot touch or be in touch with?” Cooper asked “The title comes from the idea of there are people from past generations who leave an imprint on your family and even though you can’t see, you can understand their influence and see it everywhere. I grew up listening to my family telling literal ghost stories.”
During this event, the crowd gained much insight into Card’s background and learned that the book is based on her family in real life.
“I wanted this book to be very much about trauma,” Card said “Trauma itself is a ghost; you pass it down through generations and you can see the way it transforms as you read each chapter of the book, and it manifests in different ways and in the different character lives and I wanted the book to represent that. I also wanted it to be playful as well.”
She shared one of the first stories that inspired “These Ghosts Are Family” was “White Teeth” by Zadie Smith, which is also a family saga.
Card, in addition to being an author, is also a librarian and she is currently in the process of writing a new book that is centered around librarians.
