An Interview with Meredith Rutter Marple

Even though I graduated from Tufts University with a BS in zoology, I knew I wasn’t cut out for the jobs being offered in science labs or hospitals or any of the usual spaces you might expect to find science-minded people. Instead, I took a job in the secondary school science department at a textbook publishing house and now have enjoyed a long career devoted to books—from textbook editing and management to tradebook publishing and finally to my own fiction and nonfiction writing.

I remember kindergarten classmates having to take naps (in the early 1950s during the polio scare) while I was allowed to stay awake reading. I thank my mother for that intervention with the powers that be at the time.

I grew up in Ohio and Massachusetts and now spend my time in Maine and Florida.

My award-winning debut novel, The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More, is set in Midcoast Maine.

In my dreams, I still enjoy scuba diving, tennis, skiing, and pickleball, but nowadays the hobbies focus on bridge, mahjong, and New York Times crossword puzzles.

---

---

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Of the many titles I considered during the titling process, I Live You For Ever couldn’t be beat. It is a direct quote, spelling and all, from a lengthy note to me written by Gary in his dementia. All I had to do to pick it as the memoir’s title was to talk myself down from worrying about including typos in a book title.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

Holding the book in my hands caused me to take a deep breath and relax into the knowledge that I’d done the right thing by both my husband and me.

Our experience was now part of the literature on spousal dementia and caregiving.

Our experience would help others. I caress the cover almost every day and think it’s beautiful.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

Having something to say made me want to write nonfiction. In a sense, that’s what made me write fiction as well, but that comes out through the characters rather than directly from me.

My work is influenced by many decades of reading others’ works and having the various impacts seep into my bones more than open themselves to a conscious writing mind.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I’ve always worked in the world of books, from my first job as secretary (for a textbook company’s high-school science department while they trained me to be an editorial assistant) to up-the-ladder positions (from editor to senior editor to program manager in science and then in reading/language arts) and over to the marketing group as a product manager for the company’s new K-8 English program, which I had managed from market research through to publication.

Then I started my own company providing services to textbook publishers, eventually employing over one hundred people, and then I founded a tradebook publishing company to feed my soul.

Writing is my final soul-feeding profession, and I hope it reaches others feeling the same need.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

I view I Live You For Ever as a shared communication from my husband and me to the world at large. Dementia is generally an old-person’s disease, yes, but its effects harm others as well, from caregivers to kith and kin and co-workers. My goal was and is to share the story not only with people already embroiled in dementia’s reach but also with people who simply enjoy a good read while learning about a different way of life.

Chances are good (sadly) that the latter readers also know someone dealing with the effects of dementia. Gary’s and my story will demonstrate how kindness and understanding can ease the path for others. The most rewarding aspect of all

this for me is knowing Gary would agree with and be proud of the work.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Johnny Cash – I Walk the Line

Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah

Joan Baez – Amazing Grace

Aaron Copland (orchestral) – Fanfare for the Common Man

What creative projects are you currently working on?

Writing content for talks or articles being scheduled around my memoir, but looking forward to getting back to fine-tuning the second book in what I call my Great Wharf series (first book was The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More). The main character in book one had a relatively minor role there, but I found her to be quite interesting. Working title for book two: The Week Madame Selene Dealt New Cards.

---

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.