Camille Noe Pagán

From a Q & A with Camille Noe Pagán, author of The Art of Forgetting:

The Art of Forgetting is about two friends who are at times too close, and how their relationship is impacted after one of them is in an accident and suffers a brain injury. How did you come up with this idea?

I'm a journalist by trade, and two and a half years ago, I was assigned a story about brain health for Women's Health. One of the physicians I interviewed pointed out that people take supplements and follow special brain-enhancing diets—yet drive recklessly and don't wear helmets when they're biking, in spite of the fact that traumatic brain affects more than a million Americans each year.

I began combing through medical literature about brain injury—specifically how seemingly "minor" head injuries, such as a concussion following an automobile accident, could profoundly affect a person's memory, cognition, and personality. The research was so engrossing that I wasn't content to simply cover it as a journalist, and within a few weeks I'd put together what would become the plot for The Art of Forgetting.

How did your own friendships influence Forgetting?

Many readers will probably assume when it comes to friendships, I'm more like Marissa—passive, willing to go with the flow. For the most part, that's true, and I've definitely been in friendships where I was steamrolled by the other person. (No surprise, I channeled some of that hurt into Forgetting!)

The truth is, though, Forgetting was more influenced by my good experiences than my bad. My two closest friends—both of whom I've known for more than half my life—have...[read on]

Learn more about the book and author at Camille Noe Pagan's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: The Art of Forgetting.

--Marshal Zeringue