Sigrid Nunez

In Sigrid Nunez’s latest book, What Are You Going Through, she approaches the topic of dying as a fictional character. It’s as much the narrator’s journey as it is the reader’s. When her friend declares: “Think of it as a run through…now you know what it’s going to be like, you’ll be prepared.” Yes, we certainly hope so.

DM: What inspired you to write about death and dying?

I didn’t start out with a plan to write about death. When I write fiction I never start out with an abstract idea but rather with a character, or characters. Once I had my main characters and started trying to imagine their lives, I came upon the idea that one of them would be diagnosed with a terminal illness and that she would decide she wanted to use euthanasia drugs to end her life at a moment of her own choosing.

DM: What is your current state of mind?

My state of mind is very troubled, very anxious. Among many other fears, I can see that democracy in America is under extreme threat, as it is in other parts of the world as well. The implications of this could not be more terrifying.

DM: What is your idea of perfect happiness?

There is no such thing as perfect happiness. No one should expect to find that, I don’t think.

DM: What lesson do you wish everyone could acquire, long before the end?

The good old Golden Rule: Always treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself.

DM: What are you reading, what’s on your bedside table?

I’m reading a wonderful novel called “In Memory of Memory” by Maria Stepanova. Next I want to read a new book by Rivka Galchen, “Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch.”

DM: What is one thing people never imagined about you?

I have no idea. It’s for them to tell me, isn’t it?

DM: What book would you like to be buried with?

Why would I want to I be buried with a book? Who would read it?

DM: What is your exit plan? How would you like to die?

I don’t have a plan, but like so many people, I wish it could be simple: I go to bed one night and die painlessly in my sleep.

DM: Do you have a favorite writer or book?

I’m always surprised when people are asked to name their favorite writer or book and they are able to give an answer. With so many great books to read, how can you have just one favorite, especially since books are so very different from one another?

DM: Finish this sentence: On my perfect last day I’d be…

I guess this would depend on whether or not I knew I was dying. On my last day I would hope to be calm in mind, not in terrible pain, and reconciled to the idea that the time had come for my life to end. Not frightened, not full of regrets, not kicking and screaming. And I would want to have found a way to forgive whatever I had up till then not been able to forgive.

DM: If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

I don’t know that I want to come back. I’d be afraid to see what’s become of the beautiful world. And I can’t imagine coming back as something non-sentient.