Nancy Slonim Aronie
Disarmingly candid and entertaining, author Nancy Slonim Aronie teaches others how to exhume the story within. Memoir as Medicine has been called liberating, inspiring, and curative.
Nancy Slonim Aronie, founder of the Chilmark Writing Workshop on Martha's Vineyard, has been a regular contributor to National Public Radio's All Things Considered, a columnist for various publications. Teacher of the year at Harvard, and offers workshops at Kripalu, Omega, Esalen.
DM: What inspired you to write about death and dying?
All the spiritual teachers talk about death as part of a cycle. The parts that have always rung truest, that make the most sense to me, are when they say we NEVER die. My son was sick his whole life and I knew he’d die young. At 38, he transitioned (not my favorite word), left his body (another semi-weird word), went from form to formless (better), and I wanted to write about his transformation. So death was naturally part of it.
DM: What is your current state of mind?
A very happy girl.
DM: What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Health, love, peace, and snowflakes.
DM: What lesson do you wish everyone could acquire, long before the end?
Love is all there is— relationships are the most important thing in life.
DM: What are you reading, what’s on your bedside table?
I have fallen in love with Tim Winton. Dirt Music (amazing). Then there’s Breath and Cloudstreet. Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow (loved it). Sacred Medicine by Lissa Rankin.
DM: What is one thing people never imagined about you?
As much as I talk about eating healthy, my favorite food is marshmallows.
DM: What book would you like to be buried with?
Since I’m going to be cremated, and the book would just burn, so no book, well, maybe the Kabbalah.
DM: What is your exit plan? How would you like to die?
Just go nighty night into a peaceful sleep.
DM: Do you have a favorite writer or book?
One of my favorite writers is Louise Erdrich. Love Flannery O’Connor and Alice Munro.
DM: Finish this sentence: On my perfect last day I’d be…
Balanced.
DM: If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
Probably a singer/songwriter- a country and western star.
DM: If heaven exists, what would you like to hear when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
All my family and friends who have passed on would say “There’s our girl!!! We’ve been waitin’ for ya.”
