Memoirist Nada Samih-Rotondo on embracing being an outsider
“I don’t think I’m meant to fit in in this particular structure of the world as it is now. I think I'm meant more for the upcoming iteration as the old world collapses."
If you’ve ever felt like you don’t have the right background to be a writer, or worry that your experience is too unique to be relatable to other people, get out your pens (or fire up your Google docs). This week’s guest, Nada Samih-Rotondo, will get you out of that thinking.
Nada is a multi-genre Palestinian-American writer, teacher, and mother, who recently published her first book, a memoir called All Water Has Perfect Memory. Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, Nada immigrated to the U.S. at the age of six and landed on the shores of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. Her work has been published in the The Master's Review, Squat! Birth Journal, and Gulfstream Literary Magazine.
Nada and I talked on a school holiday because she is a teacher and I am so grateful that she made time for us.
We covered:
How Nada started writing her novel during the pandemic while teaching from home and homeschooling three kids (HOW? Don’t worry—I asked. The short answer: a room of one’s own.)
Developing patience with the publishing process
Reading as a vital part of feeding your creativity
Writing in coffee shops (especially when you have kids)
How her least favorite part of writing—sharing her work—has become her most favorite part
The type of reader feedback that fills her heart and fuels her to keep writing
“It feels like I’m making little acquaintances and friends all over the place simply by creating.”
What is was like being the only Arab-American kid around in the 90s
Nada’s plea–that we wake up from the collective illusion of separateness
Finding points of connection, particularly with people you disagree with
Astrology talk! (She’s an Aries sun with a Pisces moon–equal parts ready to charge into a fight and to contemplate quantum physics.)
A preview of her second memoir, which has a central theme of earthquakes, both the geological variety and the personal kind (it sounds amazing I cannot wait)
The joy of going down a research wormhole
Nada’s current wormholes–turtle migration, and early African-American history in Rhode Island
Getting over the very human desire for external validation
Nada’s beautiful vision of a free Palestine
The perfection of a Sunday morning
“I will spend my last dollars on a new journal. I'm one of those people.”
Lightbulb moments💡:
It’s possible to write for the sheer joy of it. This sounds basic but as someone who has been on deadline for the last 20 years, I kinda forgot.
Nada’s experience is that creative writing classes are feeling more inclusive and welcoming than they did even just a decade ago—and I for one am so happy to hear that
Specific things we discussed:
Nada’s writing heroes, namely Toni Morrison, Octavia Butler, and Neil Gaiman
The books she’s been staying up too late reading—Angeline Boulley’s Warrior Girl Unearthed and Firekeeper’s Daughter
Her go-to coffeeshop order—an oatmilk matcha latte that she hopes gives her a green matcha mustache “so people stay away from me because it means I'm writing and I don't want people to talk to me.”
Music for getting fired up: City Girls and Cardi B
A recipe for molokhia, Nada’s favorite Palestinian dish
Connect with Nada:
Nada’s Instagram
Nada’s blog, Now Approaching Providence
Nada’s book, All Water Has Perfect Memory
Listen to Nada’s episodes:
Listen to parts 2 and 3 here when they drop on Wednesday and Friday of this week!
Listen to previous episodes:
Chelsey Goodan, part 1: What teens really need from adults + keeping track of inspired ideas + the most delightful way to meditate
Chelsey Goodan, part 2: Balancing ambition with knowing you’re already enough + a super helpful skill-assessment tool
Chelsey Goodan, part 3: Owning your weird self as a way to find your people and your path
Sarah Montana, part 1: Balancing consistency with adaptability + a genius yet still loosey-goosey alternative to meal planning
Sarah Montana, part 2: The good and the bad of sharing your traumatic stories + the mindbending messages in Britney Spears’s memoir
Sarah Montana, part 3: The art of the ask, finding the right role models, and “horn-y” music
Minda Honey, part 1: Answering the call to write
Minda Honey, part 2: Avoiding “self-exploitation” + countering the voices, external and internal, that criticize your work
Minda Honey, part 3: Embracing the strengths of being a Black writer + braided essays + MANY awesome book and music recs