The Genesis of In the Hollow of God's Hand: The Life and Times of Edward Z. Yoder
Joanne Wolfe talks about how she came to write this book
Joanne Wolfe talks about how she came to write this book
I set out to write In the Hollow of God’s Hand forty years ago. I knew then, beyond doubt, that it was my book to write. Several other family members attempted to write this story over the years, but I always knew that I would be the one to complete it.
From the beginning, I had a unique vision for this book. The story appealed to me as a universal one: a man’s deliberate engagement with an adventurous pioneering life, during an historic period in which conditions were often brutal for the average person. The recurring theme is triumph over adversity: from challenging early years in a closed and conservative religious sect; to world war; unprecedented worldwide economic disaster; harsh pioneer living conditions including climate extremes; government opposition and persecution based on religious conviction; and poverty, hunger, and multiple evictions from various homes — with the thread running through it all of a higher calling and a dedication to unpaid and often thankless community and spiritual service.
Before I began, I outlined my purpose, goals, and approach to writing as follows.
In this work, my intention was to pursue unity of
• pronoun: to write in the third person as an observer
• tense: to write in past tense
• mood: dramatic, semi-formal, using as few words as possible to move the reader forward quickly, making even the pauses dramatic
I also asked myself, and answered, the following questions:
Q: In what capacity will I address the reader?
A: That of storyteller; personal and semi-formal; always being guided by the question, “What moves me?”
Q: What attitude will I take toward the material?
A: That it’s important, because all human journeys are trails blazed to inform and inspire the rest of us.
Q: How much material do I want to cover?
A: The areas where there was dramatic tension, where there were pivotal events, where there was forward movement.
Q: What one point do I most want to make?
A: That if you follow your heart and do what you believe is right, your life will be its own reward: not perfect — never perfect — but deeply satisfying, despite hardship.
And finally, I followed these dictums:
• Salvation lies not only in style, but in odd facts; always collect more material than you will use. Not everything, not every fact or important instance, will be told.
• The writing must have the quality the French call “attention”: it should make you want to turn the page to see what happens next.
As to why it took me forty years to complete the manuscript, I believe there were two major reasons. The first is that my own life has been extraordinarily full and adventurous. There were times when I was so deeply immersed in experiencing my own journey that I had little energy to chronicle someone else’s. Much of my early years also were spent writing, editing, and creating publications for large corporate entities, leaving little remaining time or creative juice to work on more personal projects. However, I have come to believe that a major reason for the drawn out nature of this project was that I needed perspective that can only come with life experience. Chronicling another person’s life is best approached, I believe, with a great respect and humbleness that comes most naturally from one’s own maturity.
Every author will approach the writing of biography, memoir, and personal anecdote somewhat differently. My approach has been to shine a light on the essence of human spirit by sharing the stories that were most meaningful to the subject, and that most clearly illuminate his character.
The final thing I will say about writing this book is that it can be a unique challenge to write about a deeply religious person -- religious in a highly conservative and narrowly directed sense — when one’s own convictions differ. Having been raised Amish–Mennonite myself, I wanted to use that experience to accurately portray both the positive and negative aspects of this sect: not as I myself see them, but as my grandfather saw and spoke about them. I felt that it was imperative to take my own spiritual convictions out of the picture, and I believe that I succeeded in doing so.
My purpose was not to write a book about religion: my purpose was to tell the story of a life. The title of the book was there from the beginning and I kept it, despite the fact that I knew it might limit the audience for this work, or predispose potential readers to expect a religious treatise. The title of the book is true to the life it chronicles: true in the deepest sense of what its subject believed about himself.
— Joanne Wolfe
From the beginning, I had a unique vision for this book. The story appealed to me as a universal one: a man’s deliberate engagement with an adventurous pioneering life, during an historic period in which conditions were often brutal for the average person. The recurring theme is triumph over adversity: from challenging early years in a closed and conservative religious sect; to world war; unprecedented worldwide economic disaster; harsh pioneer living conditions including climate extremes; government opposition and persecution based on religious conviction; and poverty, hunger, and multiple evictions from various homes — with the thread running through it all of a higher calling and a dedication to unpaid and often thankless community and spiritual service.
Before I began, I outlined my purpose, goals, and approach to writing as follows.
In this work, my intention was to pursue unity of
• pronoun: to write in the third person as an observer
• tense: to write in past tense
• mood: dramatic, semi-formal, using as few words as possible to move the reader forward quickly, making even the pauses dramatic
I also asked myself, and answered, the following questions:
Q: In what capacity will I address the reader?
A: That of storyteller; personal and semi-formal; always being guided by the question, “What moves me?”
Q: What attitude will I take toward the material?
A: That it’s important, because all human journeys are trails blazed to inform and inspire the rest of us.
Q: How much material do I want to cover?
A: The areas where there was dramatic tension, where there were pivotal events, where there was forward movement.
Q: What one point do I most want to make?
A: That if you follow your heart and do what you believe is right, your life will be its own reward: not perfect — never perfect — but deeply satisfying, despite hardship.
And finally, I followed these dictums:
• Salvation lies not only in style, but in odd facts; always collect more material than you will use. Not everything, not every fact or important instance, will be told.
• The writing must have the quality the French call “attention”: it should make you want to turn the page to see what happens next.
As to why it took me forty years to complete the manuscript, I believe there were two major reasons. The first is that my own life has been extraordinarily full and adventurous. There were times when I was so deeply immersed in experiencing my own journey that I had little energy to chronicle someone else’s. Much of my early years also were spent writing, editing, and creating publications for large corporate entities, leaving little remaining time or creative juice to work on more personal projects. However, I have come to believe that a major reason for the drawn out nature of this project was that I needed perspective that can only come with life experience. Chronicling another person’s life is best approached, I believe, with a great respect and humbleness that comes most naturally from one’s own maturity.
Every author will approach the writing of biography, memoir, and personal anecdote somewhat differently. My approach has been to shine a light on the essence of human spirit by sharing the stories that were most meaningful to the subject, and that most clearly illuminate his character.
The final thing I will say about writing this book is that it can be a unique challenge to write about a deeply religious person -- religious in a highly conservative and narrowly directed sense — when one’s own convictions differ. Having been raised Amish–Mennonite myself, I wanted to use that experience to accurately portray both the positive and negative aspects of this sect: not as I myself see them, but as my grandfather saw and spoke about them. I felt that it was imperative to take my own spiritual convictions out of the picture, and I believe that I succeeded in doing so.
My purpose was not to write a book about religion: my purpose was to tell the story of a life. The title of the book was there from the beginning and I kept it, despite the fact that I knew it might limit the audience for this work, or predispose potential readers to expect a religious treatise. The title of the book is true to the life it chronicles: true in the deepest sense of what its subject believed about himself.
— Joanne Wolfe