THANKSGIVING TALES: An interview with author Brian D. Jaffe
Christina Hamlett
January 03, 2012
Turkeys and taters and pies oh my! Even though a lot of us now find ourselves on the clean-up end of holiday meals and festivities, itīs never too early to start thinking about what youīre going to do when the season of mirth, reunion and overindulgence rolls around again next year. Thanksgiving Tales: True Stories of the Holiday in America may seem like a quirky pick for your January reading list but author Brian D. Jaffe promises a journey that will make you laugh, cry, reminisce and wish you had a leftover drumstick to munch on. Brian recently took time from his busy schedule to chat about his favorite holiday.
Q: Let's start out with some general background about who you are, what you do for a living and whether this is your first foray into the realm of book publishing.
A: I live with my wife, Jenine, in New York City, where we both work. My īday jobī is in corporate IT; Iīve worked for a number of Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries. Iīm proud to say that Thanksgiving Tales is the fourth ISBN number that has my name attached to it. The other three are different editions of books about IT management that I wrote with a co-author Iīve been working with for about 13 years, although weīve never met face-to-face. I actually started writing in the 80s when I was doing a project at work. As a matter of dumb luck, a trade journal landed on my desk, and the cover story was exactly the project I was working on. But, when I read the cover story, I decided that the author didnīt know any more than I did and I couldīve easily have written the same thing. So, I decided to write up a few articles, and submit them to various publications. And this was in the day when you needed stamps and envelopes to submit something!
Q: Tell us about your book and what inspired you to sit down and write it.
A: I wish I could pinpoint the inspiration for Thanksgiving Tales. Iīm a big fan of well told stories, and Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday of mine. A few years ago, something (although I canīt recall what) made me think that these two things would make a great book. Thanksgiving is a major U.S. holiday that virtually everyone celebrates. And even though we all have similar Norman Rockewell-ish images of the ideal Thanksgiving meal, not every household actually celebrates that way, either by design or accident. I figured that there must be lots of great stories about different sorts of Thanksgiving celebrations (perhaps related to family traditions or ethnic backgrounds), Thanksgivings that didnīt go as planned (maybe due to a kitchen disaster or other unexpected event), or just having to deal with unavoidable circumstances like being out of the country.
Q: How did you go about collecting stories for it?
A: I used a few different approaches to seek out content. I started with an ad in Poets and Writers magazine and then placed ads on Craigīs List for different cities across the country, although for some reason some of them were being flagged and deleted while others were not. I also sent e-mails to instructors and professors of English, creative writing and literature at colleges and universities across the country. I worked to do all this in the weeks around Thanksgiving to try to get to people at a time while they were likely to be thinking about the holiday. And even though I really wasnīt looking for poems as I started out on the project, the poems that do appear are some of my favorite entries in the book.
Q: What is your own earliest recollection of Thanksgiving Day?
A: I donīt think I can recall my earliest Thanksgiving memory. Iīve been very fortunate to have a very close family that regularly gets together. As a kid, Iīm sure that I just figured that it was just one more family get together but this time with more food and the fancy china! Iīve spent every single Thanksgiving with my family, either at my own home or that of a close family member. I donīt think Iīve ever had to travel more than 25 miles from my home to get to our Thanksgiving dinner.
Q: So whatīs your favorite thing on the Turkey Day menu?
A: My favorite dish is my motherīs cranberry relish (for some reason she always refers to it as relish, while the rest of the world calls it sauce), and her chestnut stuffing.
Q: And least fave?
A: Iīm not at all fond of any kind of sweet potato or yam dish, and Iīm not a big fan of vegetables. However, I do have trouble saying no to apple cider or dessert especially pecan or apple pies.
Q: Why do people put such stress and pressure on themselves to orchestrate an elaborate and picture-perfect feast, especially if it also involves entertaining relatives who are critical, fractious or prone to annoying habits?
A: I think part of it is because the only ritual associated with the holiday is this get-together. There are no cards to send, no gifts to give, no religious services - just food, family and friends. Combine that with the fact that there is so much associated with it .the history, the kick-off, the holiday shopping season. And, at the same time, I think people do have this urge and desire to have the quintessential Thanksgiving meal that is worthy of a Saturday Evening Post cover, and the unending optimism that even if last yearīs holiday ended in a food fight, this yearīs will be ideal.
Q: What's the worst Thanksgiving you've ever had and how many pesky or disastrous elements of it were outside of or within your control?
A: Many of the people in the book talked about Thanksgiving memories like an alcoholic uncle, finding the oven on fire and ending up at a restaurant, dropping the turkey on the floor, or a weird cousin. I guess my most difficult Thanksgiving was the year my father died suddenly. He passed away in October, and only a month later the family was gathering for Thanksgiving. It was very emotional as we all felt his absence.
Q: What did you learn about Thanksgiving - or about yourself - from writing this book?
A: I was pleased to learn that just about everyone (save those few Thanksgiving haters) enjoys Thanksgiving. There may be big variations on how it celebrated (farmhouse vs. NYC apartment, or individual variations on the menu such as lasagna, eggrolls), but it is a holiday for everyone—whether arrival to the United States was via the Mayflower, Ellis Island, international airport, or any other way. It doesnīt matter if the celebration is traditional or unconventional. It doesnīt matter to me what food is served, how itīs made, or where the meal is held. What does matter is how the day is spent, and who you spend it with. It is a testament to the importance of the holiday that we will go to great lengths for Thanksgiving—spending money to travel long distances, or taking days to prepare meals, sometimes only to end up sleeping in the car, or learning that the Brussels sprouts had been retrieved from the garbage. Yet, weīll do it all over again next year.
Q: What was your writing schedule like?
A: A full time job definitely puts a crimp in the writing schedule and process. I try to get in a little time in the evening but usually get the most accomplished during the weekends. For Thanksgiving Tales, I purposely chose to set aside all submissions as they came in so that I could carve out some time to read them all in as few sittings as possible. Not only did they help me in allocating the time, I think it also helped to make sure that I was being somewhat consistent in how I was reviewing and judging them as I tried to pick which ones would make it into the final book. My wife has always been very supportive and makes plans to be out of the house so that I could have undisturbed blocks of time.
Q: Who are some of the writers whose style you most admire?
A: Most of the reading I do is non-fiction, and Iīve enjoyed Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit, Unbroken), Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (Freakonomics), Michael Lewis (Moneyball, The Big Short), and I sometimes read a classic (Grapes of Wrath, On the Road, To Kill a Mockingbird).
Q: What are you currently reading?
A: Iīm just finishing up Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, and after that I have another Michael Lewis book, Boomerang.
Q: What's next on your plate?
A: I havenīt quite figured that out. As Iīm doing this interview, Iīm also doing the final review of the page proofs for the 3rd edition of my book on managing information technology (The IT Managerīs Handbook). I would love to do another project like Thanksgiving Tales, but Iīm not sure what the topic will be. Of course it would be easy to just pick another holiday, but Iīd like to try a different idea.
Q: Anything else you'd like to add?
A: Iīm really pleased with how the book came out. The feedback that Iīve received about it and the reviews that have been posted have been great. I am so grateful that the writers agreed to share their special memories!
Thanksgiving Tales: True Stories of the Holiday in America is available at Amazon and can also be purchased for Kindle download.
Q: Let's start out with some general background about who you are, what you do for a living and whether this is your first foray into the realm of book publishing.
A: I live with my wife, Jenine, in New York City, where we both work. My īday jobī is in corporate IT; Iīve worked for a number of Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries. Iīm proud to say that Thanksgiving Tales is the fourth ISBN number that has my name attached to it. The other three are different editions of books about IT management that I wrote with a co-author Iīve been working with for about 13 years, although weīve never met face-to-face. I actually started writing in the 80s when I was doing a project at work. As a matter of dumb luck, a trade journal landed on my desk, and the cover story was exactly the project I was working on. But, when I read the cover story, I decided that the author didnīt know any more than I did and I couldīve easily have written the same thing. So, I decided to write up a few articles, and submit them to various publications. And this was in the day when you needed stamps and envelopes to submit something!
Q: Tell us about your book and what inspired you to sit down and write it.
A: I wish I could pinpoint the inspiration for Thanksgiving Tales. Iīm a big fan of well told stories, and Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday of mine. A few years ago, something (although I canīt recall what) made me think that these two things would make a great book. Thanksgiving is a major U.S. holiday that virtually everyone celebrates. And even though we all have similar Norman Rockewell-ish images of the ideal Thanksgiving meal, not every household actually celebrates that way, either by design or accident. I figured that there must be lots of great stories about different sorts of Thanksgiving celebrations (perhaps related to family traditions or ethnic backgrounds), Thanksgivings that didnīt go as planned (maybe due to a kitchen disaster or other unexpected event), or just having to deal with unavoidable circumstances like being out of the country.
Q: How did you go about collecting stories for it?
A: I used a few different approaches to seek out content. I started with an ad in Poets and Writers magazine and then placed ads on Craigīs List for different cities across the country, although for some reason some of them were being flagged and deleted while others were not. I also sent e-mails to instructors and professors of English, creative writing and literature at colleges and universities across the country. I worked to do all this in the weeks around Thanksgiving to try to get to people at a time while they were likely to be thinking about the holiday. And even though I really wasnīt looking for poems as I started out on the project, the poems that do appear are some of my favorite entries in the book.
Q: What is your own earliest recollection of Thanksgiving Day?
A: I donīt think I can recall my earliest Thanksgiving memory. Iīve been very fortunate to have a very close family that regularly gets together. As a kid, Iīm sure that I just figured that it was just one more family get together but this time with more food and the fancy china! Iīve spent every single Thanksgiving with my family, either at my own home or that of a close family member. I donīt think Iīve ever had to travel more than 25 miles from my home to get to our Thanksgiving dinner.
Q: So whatīs your favorite thing on the Turkey Day menu?
A: My favorite dish is my motherīs cranberry relish (for some reason she always refers to it as relish, while the rest of the world calls it sauce), and her chestnut stuffing.
Q: And least fave?
A: Iīm not at all fond of any kind of sweet potato or yam dish, and Iīm not a big fan of vegetables. However, I do have trouble saying no to apple cider or dessert especially pecan or apple pies.
Q: Why do people put such stress and pressure on themselves to orchestrate an elaborate and picture-perfect feast, especially if it also involves entertaining relatives who are critical, fractious or prone to annoying habits?
A: I think part of it is because the only ritual associated with the holiday is this get-together. There are no cards to send, no gifts to give, no religious services - just food, family and friends. Combine that with the fact that there is so much associated with it .the history, the kick-off, the holiday shopping season. And, at the same time, I think people do have this urge and desire to have the quintessential Thanksgiving meal that is worthy of a Saturday Evening Post cover, and the unending optimism that even if last yearīs holiday ended in a food fight, this yearīs will be ideal.
Q: What's the worst Thanksgiving you've ever had and how many pesky or disastrous elements of it were outside of or within your control?
A: Many of the people in the book talked about Thanksgiving memories like an alcoholic uncle, finding the oven on fire and ending up at a restaurant, dropping the turkey on the floor, or a weird cousin. I guess my most difficult Thanksgiving was the year my father died suddenly. He passed away in October, and only a month later the family was gathering for Thanksgiving. It was very emotional as we all felt his absence.
Q: What did you learn about Thanksgiving - or about yourself - from writing this book?
A: I was pleased to learn that just about everyone (save those few Thanksgiving haters) enjoys Thanksgiving. There may be big variations on how it celebrated (farmhouse vs. NYC apartment, or individual variations on the menu such as lasagna, eggrolls), but it is a holiday for everyone—whether arrival to the United States was via the Mayflower, Ellis Island, international airport, or any other way. It doesnīt matter if the celebration is traditional or unconventional. It doesnīt matter to me what food is served, how itīs made, or where the meal is held. What does matter is how the day is spent, and who you spend it with. It is a testament to the importance of the holiday that we will go to great lengths for Thanksgiving—spending money to travel long distances, or taking days to prepare meals, sometimes only to end up sleeping in the car, or learning that the Brussels sprouts had been retrieved from the garbage. Yet, weīll do it all over again next year.
Q: What was your writing schedule like?
A: A full time job definitely puts a crimp in the writing schedule and process. I try to get in a little time in the evening but usually get the most accomplished during the weekends. For Thanksgiving Tales, I purposely chose to set aside all submissions as they came in so that I could carve out some time to read them all in as few sittings as possible. Not only did they help me in allocating the time, I think it also helped to make sure that I was being somewhat consistent in how I was reviewing and judging them as I tried to pick which ones would make it into the final book. My wife has always been very supportive and makes plans to be out of the house so that I could have undisturbed blocks of time.
Q: Who are some of the writers whose style you most admire?
A: Most of the reading I do is non-fiction, and Iīve enjoyed Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit, Unbroken), Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (Freakonomics), Michael Lewis (Moneyball, The Big Short), and I sometimes read a classic (Grapes of Wrath, On the Road, To Kill a Mockingbird).
Q: What are you currently reading?
A: Iīm just finishing up Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, and after that I have another Michael Lewis book, Boomerang.
Q: What's next on your plate?
A: I havenīt quite figured that out. As Iīm doing this interview, Iīm also doing the final review of the page proofs for the 3rd edition of my book on managing information technology (The IT Managerīs Handbook). I would love to do another project like Thanksgiving Tales, but Iīm not sure what the topic will be. Of course it would be easy to just pick another holiday, but Iīd like to try a different idea.
Q: Anything else you'd like to add?
A: Iīm really pleased with how the book came out. The feedback that Iīve received about it and the reviews that have been posted have been great. I am so grateful that the writers agreed to share their special memories!
Thanksgiving Tales: True Stories of the Holiday in America is available at Amazon and can also be purchased for Kindle download.
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