Leonora Meriel has authored two books I've totally adored: The Woman Behind the Waterfall and Unity Game. We had a little chat about The Woman Behind the Waterfall and more on Leonora's writing.
What was the spark that started The Woman Behind the Waterfall?
I was at a crossroads in my life when I started writing the book, and I was unsure if I’d done everything wrong in my life, or everything right – or where to go from there. This was the spark that got me exploring how women’s choices are so complex – and how they are connected to the choices of their own mothers and grandmothers, and how in turn they will affect any children they have. Women are so connected to their mothers and daughters – as life givers – and the connection is often working more powerfully than we see. This led to me writing a novel about a woman’s choices – and her personal search for happiness.
Name one thing you’re proud of having achieved with The Woman Behind the Waterfall.
Lots of women who have read the book, and reviewers who write about it on Goodreads and other sites, say how it has made them see their relationships with their mothers and grandmothers differently, and made them feel joyful and thoughtful about these important people in their lives and the connection they have with them. I’m really proud of writing something that helps readers find deeper meaning in these relationships – and causes them to look more deeply within themselves.
Please tell us a little about your writing style. What/who has influenced you?
I’m always drawn to writers who you get the sense have put every bit of themselves – heart, soul, sweat – into their work, and have personally been transformed by it. You can kind of feel the transformation of the writer themselves as you read the book, and that energy comes across as electrifying. This is the way I try to write – to enter a state where, by giving everything to the writing, both I and the reader will be changed by the story and the words. Books that have moved me in this way have been, Min Jin Lee’s “Pachinko,” Octavia Butler’s “Lilith’s Brood” and Liu Cixin’s “The Three-Body Problem.”
What was the most interesting/random fact you discovered while researching for The Woman Behind the Waterfall?
I learned how to make home-brewed vodka! It’s very common for people who live in villages in Ukraine to make their own moonshine – called samohon - and flavor it with honey, herbs, horseradish or other interesting tastes. As part of my research I was given a master class in making it – and then drinking it. It was delicious!
Share something about your main character(s) that is super important to you and why that is.
My main character is a mother who thinks she has done everything wrong in her life. That’s important to me because I think in life we can make big “mistakes” and go in the wrong direction, but in fact, they are not mistakes at all. They are ways that we are growing and becoming a new person. There are all sorts of set paths and expected routes for people in this world, especially women, and going off track is an important part of living.
Is there something from your own life or experience that has found its way into The Woman Behind the Waterfall?
I lived in Ukraine, where the novel is set, for ten years, and when I located the novel there I really wanted to write about how beautiful and culturally-rich the country is. The descriptions of Ukraine come directly from my own sense of wonder and amazement at the beauty of this very special land.
What’s next for you and your writing?
I’m still deeply inspired by issues of women and their choices, and my upcoming novel is about a woman who has experienced trauma, and who goes on a 10-day silent meditation retreat in Thailand. It explores what it’s like to be an ambitious, modern woman, and the price that we often pay for demanding a full and fulfilled life. “And Breathe” will be released on May 1st 2022.
What book(s) changed your life?
The first book that transformed me was the gothic wonder of “Titus Groan” by Mervyn Peake, and his “Gormenghast” trilogy.
The second was “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – the range and depth just blew me away.
The third was Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs Dalloway” – celebrating the wonder of a single day with extraordinary writing.
The fourth was “Half of a Yellow Sun” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It was such a beautifully written classic.
And finally, a recent read – Octavia Butler’s “Lilith’s Brood” – astoundingly imaginative and firmly rooted in the experience of women – just transformative.
Is there a cause that’s important to you?
I’m passionate about women’s empowerment, as I think the more fulfilled women there are around the world, the better and fairer the world will be. I try to support a range of causes in this area from the developed world to developing nations – there are still so many areas where women need to come to full equality.
I also feel passionately about helping homeless people / people on the streets. Life is a complicated thing to manage, and a few blows of bad luck or personal weaknesses can find someone losing everything. If people are at the point in their lives where they have nowhere to sleep then we – as a human community – should be reaching out and helping them get back to a positive place where they can cope with modern life.