Mary Alice Monroe
SIBA Guest Blogger
HOW SEA TURTLES CHANGED MY LIFE.
When I moved to the Lowcountry of South Carolina, I had already published six novels. These were character-driven novels based on archetypal themes. Stories about relationships–wives and husbands, sisters, friends. But when I moved to the Isle of Palms, I was fascinated with the loggerhead sea turtles and the way children and adults were so curious and engaged with these ancient mariners. I decided to write about them and immediately began research for my next novel.
That summer I began what would become my typical approach to a new novel. First I did academic research and extensive interviews. Then, I dove into my story world. I became a Turtle Team Volunteer, affectionately called a “turtle lady.” I must’ve been a pest as I followed the two team leaders through every step of their duties. I patrolled the beaches at dawn on the lookout for tracks, and again during the late night hours hoping against hope to catch sight of an adult female laying her eggs. I probed for eggs and when necessary, moved them to a safer spot, reported strandings, then sat with my new friends night after night like midwives, waiting for the sand to shift and hatchlings to emerge. On those mosquito-ridden nights I discovered the familiar camaraderie between women that I so often wrote about in previous novels. Little did I know my interest in turtles would become a passion. At the season’s end the team leader said, “Mary Alice, why don’t you just get your DNR license and join us?” I did. (And I still am a turtle lady.)
After two years of volunteering, reading, interviewing, it was time to write the novel. Rather than choose an archetypal theme, this time I let the turtles tell me what the story would be about. For example, a loggerhead turtle returns to the beach of its birth to lay its nest. So the novel became a novel of return. One turtle lays 80-150 eggs per nest, four or five nests per season. That’s a lot of eggs, so I knew someone in the story would be pregnant! The details of the nesting saga created marvelous metaphors and added depth and purpose to my setting, dialogue, characterizations. And I was determined to share my passion for these animals with my readers. There were unique challenges. My job was to tell a story, not to proselytize. Yet I hoped that if I succeeded in portraying this threatened species in a way that captured the reader emotionally, then perhaps he or she would act to support this species.
When I finished, I knew I’d written something different. Something special. I believed in the book. I held my breath and handed in the novel. The Beach House was my first NY Times novel, and more, readers rallied and donated funds to turtle hospitals and aquariums. The number of volunteers along the SE coast grew, all specifically due to the novel. My elation at bringing about a better understanding of the endangered sea turtles gave me a new motivation for my career. I realized that my stories can serve as the song of the canary in the coal mine.
It’s hard to believe that was ten years ago. I’ve gone on to explore the endangered worlds of birds of prey, indigenous grass, and the vanishing coastal heritage of shrimping. I worry about the disconnect so many feel with nature. The process of writing entails months, years, of hands-on research. I immerse myself in my story world to discover the authentic details and voices. Just as I learn something new from every writing project, I hope my readers will also gain knowledge and share in my enthusiasm through the pages of my stories. Though the Lowcountry is my landscape, the themes are universal. We all share the same planet and resonate to the same moon.
