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A Novel For Junior with Alejandro Heredia
How can we stay present to the goodness of life as it unfolds? When is ambition a boon to creativity, and when is it a block? Can regret be a useful emotion? And how can loss give purpose and shape to our creative pursuits—and, often, save our lives?
In Season 2, episode 6 of Flowers For Linda, a podcast on grief & creativity, Alejandro and I sat down on the heels of the release of his debut novel, LOCA.
Inspired by and in tribute to Junior, Alejandro's cousin-brother who took his own life at age 28, LOCA casts their shared interests and identities into possible other-lives, with lovable characters coming of age in rich and thoughtful queer fictional landscapes set in 1990s New York and Santo Domingo.
Before we began recording, Alejandro reminded me that he is succinct, a gift of his I admire, proving that the right words chosen carefully can hold entire worlds. In this 30 minute episode that packs a punch, we start with our favorite conversation: how to stay grounded in an ambition that is motivated by the work at hand, rather than the seductive shine of external validation.
The answer, I am reminded by Alejando, lies in holding close the great why, the purpose, the drive behind our process, and the feelings and experiences we are alchemizing in ourselves to share with the eventual reader.
I invite you to join us as Alejandro draws a tender portrait of two brothers, and reveals with candor how grieving Junior presented as a depression propelled by self destruction. Interrupting his grief spiral, put simply, writing LOCA saved Alejandro's life.
When I host these special conversations, I try to remain an open container for the guest, holding space. Here, Alejandro drops one of the most potent metaphors on death I’ve heard, bringing audible tears. I think that says so much about what this episode offers.
In reverence,
Caits
ABOUT LOCA
It’s 1999, and best friends Sal and Charo are striving to hold on to their dreams in a New York determined to grind them down. Sal is a book-loving science nerd trying to grow beyond his dead-end job in a new city, but he’s held back by tragic memories from his past in Santo Domingo. Free-spirited Charo is surprised to find herself a mother at twenty-five, partnered with a controlling man, working at the same supermarket for years, her world shrunk to the very domesticity she thought she’d escaped in her old country. When Sal finds love at a gay club one night, both his and Charo’s worlds unexpectedly open up to a vibrant social circle that pushes them to reckon with what they owe to their own selves, pasts, futures, and, always, each other.
Loca follows one daring year in the lives of young people living at the edge of their own patience and desires. With expansive grace, it reveals both the grueling conditions that force people to migrate and the possibility of friendship as home when family, nations, and identity groups fall short.
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By Caits MeissnerHow can we stay present to the goodness of life as it unfolds? When is ambition a boon to creativity, and when is it a block? Can regret be a useful emotion? And how can loss give purpose and shape to our creative pursuits—and, often, save our lives?
In Season 2, episode 6 of Flowers For Linda, a podcast on grief & creativity, Alejandro and I sat down on the heels of the release of his debut novel, LOCA.
Inspired by and in tribute to Junior, Alejandro's cousin-brother who took his own life at age 28, LOCA casts their shared interests and identities into possible other-lives, with lovable characters coming of age in rich and thoughtful queer fictional landscapes set in 1990s New York and Santo Domingo.
Before we began recording, Alejandro reminded me that he is succinct, a gift of his I admire, proving that the right words chosen carefully can hold entire worlds. In this 30 minute episode that packs a punch, we start with our favorite conversation: how to stay grounded in an ambition that is motivated by the work at hand, rather than the seductive shine of external validation.
The answer, I am reminded by Alejando, lies in holding close the great why, the purpose, the drive behind our process, and the feelings and experiences we are alchemizing in ourselves to share with the eventual reader.
I invite you to join us as Alejandro draws a tender portrait of two brothers, and reveals with candor how grieving Junior presented as a depression propelled by self destruction. Interrupting his grief spiral, put simply, writing LOCA saved Alejandro's life.
When I host these special conversations, I try to remain an open container for the guest, holding space. Here, Alejandro drops one of the most potent metaphors on death I’ve heard, bringing audible tears. I think that says so much about what this episode offers.
In reverence,
Caits
ABOUT LOCA
It’s 1999, and best friends Sal and Charo are striving to hold on to their dreams in a New York determined to grind them down. Sal is a book-loving science nerd trying to grow beyond his dead-end job in a new city, but he’s held back by tragic memories from his past in Santo Domingo. Free-spirited Charo is surprised to find herself a mother at twenty-five, partnered with a controlling man, working at the same supermarket for years, her world shrunk to the very domesticity she thought she’d escaped in her old country. When Sal finds love at a gay club one night, both his and Charo’s worlds unexpectedly open up to a vibrant social circle that pushes them to reckon with what they owe to their own selves, pasts, futures, and, always, each other.
Loca follows one daring year in the lives of young people living at the edge of their own patience and desires. With expansive grace, it reveals both the grueling conditions that force people to migrate and the possibility of friendship as home when family, nations, and identity groups fall short.