Newpaper interview from the Frederick News Post

A tragic life begins in a Depression-era small town
By Karen Gardner
Assistant Family Editor

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Staff photo by Bill Green

Allison Alexander holds her recently published book, "Return to Suicide."
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Allison Pollack Alexander lives and writes in a small cabin near Mount Airy. It's a peaceful life, in a peaceful setting, but it hasn't always been that way.

Ms. Alexander has written a book, "Return to Suicide," that is not meant to be as uplifting as her surroundings. It was published this year by AmErica House.

"It's not a happy story," she said. The book is only a little more than 100 pages. It chronicles the life of a little girl who lives in the scrubby little town of Suicide, Okla., during the Depression.

She wrote the book after seeing a picture of a little girl working the fields in Oklahoma during the Depression. "That picture has haunted me since I was 8," she said. Ms. Alexander has had a rather chaotic life herself since her childhood.

She began writing short stories at 9, but at 15 ran away from home and hitchhiked across the country. At 17, she joined the Children of God, a religious organization that has been labeled a cult in some circles. Ms. Alexander would agree. She spent 12 years in the group, mostly in Asia and Latin America.

Her experience wasn't entirely negative. She was 17 when she joined and 26 when she left. In that time, she married and had four children. Although she had written stories since she was 9, she destroyed everything when she joined the group. "When I came out I was like a blank slate," she said. "I wouldn't write for five years."

Now 39, she said it's nice to be able to write again. "You lose your identity and you don't realize it until later," she said. "It was a great experience if you can get beyond the brainwashing. Living communally has its good points."

She is much more independent now, and learned that while in the church. She and her husband, now divorced, left the group because they wanted their children to express themselves.

Ms. Alexander has spent five years expressing herself through her writings. The book "Return to Suicide" is a tragedy, but not necessarily a sad book. "I just like real life," she said. "Life isn't all rosy and sunny."

The story has symbols, including a train. It has sympathetic characters and unlikeable characters. It has murder and suicide, as the title indicates. "I still think I'm a positive person," she said.

She has written two other novellas, as she calls them. All three are under 150 pages. One is about a girl who finds the Renaissance-era diary of a girl fleeing marauders. The other is about a man who has an affair with a woman, and what happens to his children as they learn of his liaison. The book spans his life from his mid-40s to his early 60s. "It's my favorite," she said. "It's a story about relationships."

She often gets her inspiration in a cornfield near her home. Two of her children, her 14-year-old daughter and one of her 18-year-old twin boys, live with her in Mount Airy. Her 20-year-old son and the other 18-year-old live with their father in Beijing, where they settled after leaving Children of God.

Her second book, "Dance of the Misbegotten," will be available in August. She took part in a weekend book signing, known as Emerging Literary Voices 2002, at a small, independent bookstore in Pittsburgh. She also took part in a women's conference on books at Borders Books and Music in Hagerstown in April.




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"Return to Suicide" is available from AmErica House at www.PublishAmerica.com.