The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire #143: Elena Sheppard
"This book is very much about memory, and the way memory functions, and I thought a lot about how to make it very clear that this is no one’s truth but mine."
Since 2010, in various publications, I’ve interviewed authors—mostly memoirists—about aspects of writing and publishing. Initially I did this for my own edification, as someone who was struggling to find the courage and support to write and publish my memoir. I’m still curious about other authors’ experiences, and I know many of you are, too. So, inspired by the popularity of The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire, I’ve launched The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire.
Here’s the 143rd installment, featuring , author of The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora. - Sari Botton
P.S. Check out all the interviews in The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire series.
Elena Sheppard is non-fiction writer whose debut memoir—The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora—is set for release in September 2025. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, The Guardian, The Cut, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and W, as well as on NBC and MSNBC. She has been a fellow at the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts. She lives in New York with her husband and identical twin toddlers.
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How old are you, and for how long have you been writing?
I am 38 ). I have been writing (in diaries! in classrooms! in the margins!) since I could hold a pencil, and professionally for about 15 years.
What’s the title of your latest book, and when was it published?
My book is called The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora. It was published on September 30, 2025.
What number book is this for you?
This is my debut!
The Eternal Forest is a family memoir about the Cuban Revolution and its impacts. The book explores how trauma, memories, patriotism, patterns of motherhood, and stories are passed down through generations and through blood. History will always tell the stories of leaders — Fidel Castro and Che Guevara will not be forgotten; but my family, directly impacted by their actions, likely will.
How do you categorize your book—as a memoir, memoir-in-essays, essay collection, creative nonfiction, graphic memoir, autofiction—and why?
My book is a memoir, but my hope is that in some ways it defies categorization. There are threads of history, threads of mythology, threads written as a script, as well as family stories and lore—my intention is that those all exist simultaneously on the page, just like memory and storytelling work in real life.
What is the “elevator pitch” for your book?
The Eternal Forest is a family memoir about the Cuban Revolution and its impacts. The book explores how trauma, memories, patriotism, patterns of motherhood, and stories are passed down through generations and through blood. History will always tell the stories of leaders — Fidel Castro and Che Guevara will not be forgotten; but my family, directly impacted by their actions, likely will.
In 1960, my mother, grandparents, and aunt came to the United States as political refugees. They believed they would return to their small town of Cifuentes in a few months, after Castro’s reign had run its course. When they fled, they left everything in its place: books on the nightstand, dishes drying near the sink, clothes hung in the closet. They never went back, but a piece of each of their identities got trapped in that moment.
Throughout the memoir I weave back and forth across the Florida Straits as I unearth family secrets and stories on the brink of being lost to time. These secrets feel essential to my understanding of myself, and the greater understanding of both the Cuban diaspora and what those who immigrated were forced to leave behind.
What’s the back story of this book including your origin story as a writer? How did you become a writer, and how did this book come to be?
Ever since I was a little girl I’ve been obsessed with my grandmother’s stories about her life. When I was in high school, I started recording her telling those stories and found myself years later with this archive of her memories that I felt deeply responsible for. For years this book existed inside of me as a story I needed to tell, but I wasn’t quite sure how. I ultimately applied to an MFA program because I wasn’t sure how else to impose the discipline on myself to write it. Luckily, my plan worked.
In terms of my origins as a writer, I’ve always written. After college, I moved to Thailand for a number of years and kept a blog—that was really my first time writing consistently for an audience about my life experiences and I quickly realized how much I loved it. Somehow, I didn’t know that writing non-fiction was something people could turn into a career until my aunt told me. After that, I never looked back.
What were the hardest aspects of writing this book and getting it published?
There were two things that I found tremendously difficult. The first was working so hard on something without any guarantee that it would ever see the light of day. I sort of had to just convince myself that the act of writing was enough, even if the book would never be published. It was a daily struggle to keep motivation and confidence without that assurance.
The second thing was I had twins smack dab in the middle of trying to sell this book. Actually, I sold the manuscript on the phone while my boys were still in the NICU and I was pumping. It was a truly hectic time, and figuring out how to keep writing, while taking care of two newborns definitely stretched me to my limits.
In 1960, my mother, grandparents, and aunt came to the United States as political refugees. They believed they would return to their small town of Cifuentes in a few months, after Castro’s reign had run its course. When they fled, they left everything in its place: books on the nightstand, dishes drying near the sink, clothes hung in the closet. They never went back, but a piece of each of their identities got trapped in that moment…Throughout the memoir I weave back and forth across the Florida Straits as I unearth family secrets and stories on the brink of being lost to time.
How did you handle writing about real people in your life? Did you use real or changed names and identifying details? Did you run passages or the whole book by people who appear in the narrative? Did you make changes they requested?
What’s that quote, “Having a writer in your family is like having a serial killer in your family?” I get it.
My family, who this book is about, has been unbelievably generous. I didn’t change any names, but in many cases I didn’t use last names, and my family has all read the manuscript. This book is very much about memory, and the way memory functions, and I thought a lot about how to make it very clear that this is no one’s truth but mine.
That said, it’s very nerve-wracking to write about people you love.
Who is another writer you took inspiration from in producing this book? Was it a specific book, or their whole body of work? (Can be more than one writer or book.)
I really admire Sarah M. Broom’s The Yellow House. The way she blends history and the personal was certainly inspiring to me. Another writer I admire deeply and looked to for inspiration was Edwidge Danticat, in particular her memoir Brother, I’m Dying. I am not a re-reader but that’s one book I’ve re-read countless times.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers looking to publish a book like yours, who are maybe afraid, or intimidated by the process?
Don’t reject yourself before you’ve given the powers that be the chance to accept you. It’s very easy to convince yourself that no one will ever read your writing, or no one will ever publish it, or….the list goes on. But, that’s all in your head until it happens. Do the work, that’s the only thing you can control, and then see where it takes you.
What do you love about writing?
Emotionally, I love that it gives me the chance to really think and process. I’m a very fast-moving person and I find that writing is really the only time I take to sit and process.
Technically, I hate a first draft but I love editing. That’s when the real fun begins.
What frustrates you about writing?
First drafts. They’re just so hard. A blank page and then words that don’t quite work. That said, the more you write and the longer you write, the more you come to understand that a first draft is often very far from the finished product. This book, for example, began as a series of essays—now it’s one cohesive narrative. A lot changed from draft one to draft 75 million.
What about writing surprises you?
Reading what I wrote often surprises me. There’s something shocking about the mess in your mind being honed and sharpened into a written work.
Don’t reject yourself before you’ve given the powers that be the chance to accept you. It’s very easy to convince yourself that no one will ever read your writing, or no one will ever publish it, or….the list goes on. But, that’s all in your head until it happens. Do the work, that’s the only thing you can control, and then see where it takes you.
Does your writing practice involve any kind of routine, or writing at specific times?
Before I had children, I had a whole pre-work routine of waking up in the dark and writing quietly before the day began. Now as a mother, that kind of continuity just doesn’t exist. My trick now is to give myself a time goal every day–say, write for an hour—and just squeezing that in wherever and however I find the time.
Do you engage in any other creative pursuits, professionally or for fun? Are there non-writing activities do you consider to be “writing” or supportive of your process?
My day job requires a lot of writing, but of a very different kind. I think that helps to keep my brain moving and thinking about words even if they’re not creative exactly.
What’s next for you? Do you have another book planned, or in the works?
Seeing this book published! It’s an anxiety-inducing time, this lead-up to launch, but I’m very excited. I’ve also just begun doing research for an idea which I hope (fingers crossed) will be my next big book project.