MN: You have characters in the book that are American, and some that are Afghan, such as Najibullah and Amin. MH: It’s the reason why writing about Afghanistan and the Afghans, interspersed with Americans and their struggle to understand this conflict and all the loss it’s entailed, was so interesting to me. MN: Is this the inspiration for What Changes Everything ? Prayer and violence both serve that purpose. It brings you closer to your understanding and interpretation of your own life, in the same way that violence does. And the call to prayer - which we hear in the embassy compound where I am now, as well as anywhere I’ve been in Afghanistan - really blends through the day and marks the day. Prayer, of course, is five times a day here. So the characters in my novel are compelled by both things, as most Afghans are. There’s not a lot of space between you and life. MH: How do I put this into words after a day that’s had both prayer and violence in it? You’re very close to the surface here. To what extent are these two qualities part of daily life? MN: As someone who’s never been to Afghanistan, that interplay of prayer and violence is hard for me to imagine. MH: Here I think it’s the mixture of prayer and violence that combines to give the characters and their actions. MN: How do the nuances of Afghanistan find their way into your work? I like writing in a variety of places and catching the intangibles, the mood, and atmospherics that you can’t, exactly, explain in words but that impact your word choices. I like the focus and concentration of writing in an office, but I wouldn’t want to write an entire novel there. I have written in war zones, but also on subways, in bodegas, at my bedside. MH: Definitely my writing is impacted by place. Can you tell me about your experiences writing in different places? In New York writing feels like an escape here it is an extension of daily life. Normally I live in New York City, and being here has made me realize what a huge impact the city has had on me, on my psyche, on the role that writing plays in my life. MN: I’m staying in the New Hampshire mountains out my window is a small and pretty lake. In the distance you can see the beginnings of the Hindu Kush mountain range, beyond Kabul. There’s not a lot of green on the compound, but right outside my window there is a bit of lawn, which I’m very grateful for. Now it’s fairly quiet, but sometimes I do hear helicopters flying low overhead. Outside my window there’s a big tent where we’ll be gathered tomorrow with our Afghan colleagues, and partners, to mark an early Independence Day. Masha Hamilton (MH): It’s nighttime here, it’s dark. Melody Nixon (MN): Can you describe to me what is outside your window right now? Against a background of suicide bomb attacks and early Fourth of July celebrations in Kabul, Masha talked to Melody Nixon long-distance about Afghanistan, storytelling as a human right, and the delicate act of writing in a war zone. Embrace all my darling Children for me.Last month Masha Hamilton published her fifth novel, What Changes Everything, while working around the clock as the Director of Communications and Public Diplomacy at the U.S. With my last idea I shall cherish the sweet hope of meeting you in a better world.Īdieu best of wives and best of Women. Fly to the bosom of your God and be comforted. The consolations of Religion, my beloved, can alone support you and these you have a right to enjoy.
Nor could I dwell on the topic lest it should unman me. I need not tell you of the pangs I feel, from the idea of quitting you and exposing you to the anguish which I know you would feel. But it was not possible, without sacrifices which would have rendered me unworthy of your esteem. If it had been possible for me to have avoided the interview, my love for you and my precious children would have been alone a decisive motive. This letter, my very dear Eliza, will not be delivered to you, unless I shall first have terminated my earthly career to begin, as I humbly hope from redeeming grace and divine mercy, a happy immortality.
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