"Elwood and Turner represent two different parts of my personality…There is the optimistic or hopeful part of me [in Elwood] that believes we can make the world a better place if we keep working at it. Then there’s the pessimistic side, the cynical side [in Turner] that says no—this country is founded on genocide, murder, and slavery and it will always be that way. That’s our dilemma as human beings: How do we reconcile the hopeful with our pessimistic side? How do we reconcile disappointments with the small daily times that make up our lives? I don’t know [any more] than anybody else.… For the characters [in the novel] there’s the problem of, How do you come back from a life-changing catastrophe?...Bouncing back from trauma, you borrow from a sense of hope…but also recognize what you’ve gone through and what you’re up against."