More with David Layton

Paula: When you were writing the book, now, as a 35 year old man looking back on this childhood, what insights as an adult have you gained from a background where you were shuffled around a lot in these exotic locations, dealing with these very unusual people?

David: My principle is to have my two feet on the ground, so if everything is just quiet and pleasant I am happy. As for particular insights, growing in my family doesn't really change anybody else that have insights they grow older. I think everybody's childhood is strangely enough very similar to this. While this is a very particular story, I think a lot of children grow up feeling their parents are god-like in the beginning and it's very confusing at times, it's very painful. Most people I know had a really difficult time -- even if they are not being dragged to Casablanca. Motion sickness, the affliction, when I was thinking about the title of the book, it is something that afflicts the passenger and rarely the driver. If it's the passenger, it's not just about movement, but it's about control and you're not in control, and to me that's a description of childhood. It's not so different if you're forced to go to this school, or we're moving now, or we're re-locating. You're always eavesdropping on your fate; you might be given an explanation but you don't have any control, and I think that's the horror of childhood and especially adolescence because you desperately want to break free. And you know what, I have a lot of friends and I know a lot of stories people have had far worse circumstances and not just in terms of extreme far worse like they're running around the world and being dragged around even more, but just growing up in a school and they're not happy in a school. Not being happy in a school for very particular and to other people boring reasons, is miserable. And what you learn from that . . . (shrugs)

Paula: Did you ever do any self-editing while writing the book -- did you feel you were being too candid or giving away too much?

David: No. The editing was more to do with story and writing. My only concern was the tone of the book, not the content. If the tone was wrong, you've had it. I was always making sure that the tone fit the balance so the reader did not feel deeply uncomfortable. If they are not sure why I am writing the book, or they are not too sure what is going on, they are going to close it pretty quickly, because they don't want to hear somebody whining, and they don't want to hear someone who is deeply resentful. So, that was it, not the content. What was in was in and I never pulled back, thinking that this would be too much. Maybe once or twice.

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