Judy Bernstein response

My Question: Hi Judy, We just finished reading They Poured Fire on us From the Sky
in our English class, and I thought it was a very good, heart-warming
story. However in our class discussion about the book many students
felt that the actual dialogue in the book was somewhat fabricated.
Many people brought up the fact that these boys were just 5 or 7 years
old at the time, and could not remember specific conversations they
had with other people. We were all sort of wondering how much input
you had in their writing and if some of the dialogue is just added to
help the book seem more real. This is in no way to diminish the
struggle and hardships these boys went through in their lives, it's
just to gain a better understanding of the experience they had.

Thank you.

Her Response::

That is a very good question and I am impressed that you and your classmates are interested in the process of memoir writing.

In the case of the dialogue, I used what they gave me. I coached them very little with their writing and they relayed it in different ways and each of them had their own style. I do believe they had a unique style, you could call it a "story telling" tradition perhaps, that differs a bit from ours. Then there was the second language to consider and their young age, both when they lived it and wrote it (ages 20 - 22).

Surely they could not in most cases remember exact conversations, but often they told me parts of their lives with the dialogue you see in the book. I wish I could make up dialogue that well! Many times the dialogue was the memorable part of the story, such as Benson remembering his encounter with the jeep, or times with their parents or friends.

There is another big issue to keep in mind. Traumatic events are burned into our brains and unfortunately for many, can never be forgotten. The only coaching I gave them was to write about what stood out in their minds because that was what would interest everyone. Then I asked a few things to bridge those events or fill in cultural background, like life in the village before the disaster.

Of course no one can remember the exact words in conversations throughout our lives. But we recall the essence of those conversations, at least from our own point-of-view. But just like events, someone else make recall it quite differently. But that is what memoir is, writing how one saw it themselves. And we the reader, want to walk in their shoes for that time.

All and all, I was astounded by the detail of some of their memories and in some cases it could not even all be included.

Please thank your class for reading our book. Judy