“Write about things that you’re afraid to speak. . . ” ~~Linda Hoye
The Presence of Absence:
A Story About Busyness, Brokenness, and Being Beloved
The Presence of Absence sounds like an oxymoron at first. Far from it. It’s a story that encompasses philosophy, spirituality, and a fascinating journey of self-discovery. Author Linda Hoye recalls her journey into self-awareness as she seeks out her birth family and learns to appreciate the family that accepts and loves her.
Busyness provides distraction and deflection. With more tasks to do there’s always an excuse to avoid the issues that we most need to face. Writing became more than busyness for Hoye. Though she still had goals, she also sought answers and used writing and spirituality to resolve the issues around adoption that bothered her. In addition to being a good writer, she is a photographer, and gardener. She lives in British Columbia, Canada with her husband and their doted-upon Yorkshire Terrier but will always be a Saskatchewan prairie girl.
BLG: Tell us about your writing background. How did you incorporate writing in your life when you were a business analyst?
LH: Writing has been part of my life in one form or another since I was old enough to hold a pencil and scratch out words on a piece of paper. In my forties, as an empty nester and after my husband and I moved to Washington state from British Columbia, Canada for work reasons, I found myself with extra time on my hands. Somehow, I stumbled upon the Story Circle Network. I became a member, signed up for classes, submitted to their quarterly Journal, and committed to a regular writing practice by starting a blog.
I began writing my first book (Two Hearts: An Adoptee’s Journey Through Grief to Gratitude) when I was very busy working in the corporate world. Carving out time on weekends and days off and setting aside other interests for a time gave me the opportunity to focus on writing. I like to think that, while we might be able to do it all, it’s not always possible to do it all at the same time.
I was retired by the time I started writing The Presence of Absence, so time was much more my friend while writing that book.
BLG: How was your journaling and blogging a trigger for this story?
LH: For several years, I posted daily on my blog and many of those blog posts and my private journal entries made their way into this book in some form. Having them as a jumping off point gave me a foundation from which to build.
BLG: This seems to be part journal, part adoption memoir, part self-discovery, and part Christian literature. What genre did you put it in to sell it?
LH: I consider The Presence of Absence a spiritual memoir.
BLG: Many of my writing students struggle with structure. How did you find your structure for this?
LH: I gleaned wisdom from Marian Roach Smith (her little book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing and Life is an excellent resource) and Jeff Goins and started with a single sentence argument. From there, using a three-part structure—who was I before, what happened, and who was I after—I crafted an outline.
BLG: I like that structure very much. I loved the divisions between sections. How did you come up with the idea of putting three infinity symbols together?
LH: You’re referring to the Kindle version. I’m not sure and it wasn’t intentional. The sections divisions are different in the print and Kobo versions. There’s nothing special behind the symbols.
BLG: Memoir writers are often trying to figure something out. What do you know now that you hadn’t figured out when you started the book?
LH: I know that busyness is my Achilles heel and living through the filter of knowing that I, and everyone else, is beloved helps me focus on what’s truly important.
BLG: What was your publishing experience like and would you recommend your process to others?
LH: I published independently under my own imprint which meant I was responsible for finding developmental and copy editors, a cover designer, and an interior layout designer. The upside is that I retain control of everything that happens with the book. If there’s ever a third book, I’ll go this route again.
BLG: What advice do you have for people with a story they are struggling to tell?
LH: Write it! Write about things that you’re afraid to speak aloud of with the view that no one other than yourself is going to read it. Then, and only then, can you begin to think about how your story might become a book and who your audience might be.
Writing helps you gain distance and perspective. It is also a great healer. Maybe there’s an aspect of your story that might help someone else going through a similar experience and it’s an act of great generosity to share it. Sometimes the process of writing, and the internal work required to do it, shows you something in a new light and the work has accomplished what it was meant to do. Either way, just start writing
BLG: Wise advice. Thank you for stating it so well. Where can readers get a copy, what are you writing now, and where can people learn more about you?
LH: The Presence of Absence: A Story About Busyness, Brokenness, and Being Beloved is available at any bookstore, Amazon, and Rakuten Kobo in print and ebook format.
These days, I’m working on reestablishing a daily practice of posting to my blog ( https://lindahoye.com/). Aside from that, I write for my writing group and in my journal. For now, that’s enough.
BLG: Thank you for sharing this, Linda. I like the acceptance I hear in that last answer, and I loved the journey in The Presence of Absence. I suspect many people read this book slowly, absorbing its depth and incorporating it into their lives. Others may squirm a bit. For them, you’ve introduced the idea that busyness could be a problem.
There’s something for every reader in this book, and I encourage you to get a copy and find out what’s in it for you.
Lovely interview, Linda!