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PrintWriting From the Heart
Photography by bradly j. boner
In his Kelly home office, Ted Kerasote has one bookshelf filled with research for Merle’s Door, his New York Times bestseller about his late dog. A second set of shelves contains research for his new book on why dogs have such short life spans. Author of six books, countless magazine articles, and a forthcoming novel starring a jaguar, Kerasote writes as voraciously as he reads, skis, and paddles.
Q. What inspired you to write Merle’s Door?
A. I wrote the book to remember Merle. It was really my goal to give people some insight into how dogs could be if they were given the opportunity to expand their horizons. But the feedback that I’ve gotten has been: this is one of the best love stories ever written. I didn’t think about it that way. I wrote about our relationship, which demonstrated that we were in love. I also didn’t intend to write a self-help book, but it has been read as a wake-up call. Life is short, and they [readers] need to find a new place to live that speaks to their spirit; get a new job that speaks to their soul ... I know two people who moved here because of Merle’s Door.
Q. You once referred to the season between winter and summer as ‘the catastrophe of spring.’ What did you mean?
A. If I could redesign the year, I would have four months of the week between December 21 and a little after New Year’s Day. Then I would have four months of the last week in June and the first week in July, and then four months of the last week in September.
Q. As a writer, your curiosity seems to know no limits. Was this always the case?
A. I’ve always been a voracious reader. We had a summer home on the North Shore of Long Island, a great Tom-Sawyerish place to grow up. We had a boat. We fished a lot, rode our bikes. We would hunt ducks and geese in the fall. I was perpetually curious: I would look at the geese and think, ‘You guys came from Quebec,’ and then, ‘I would really like to go there.’ I would read books like The Brothers Karamazov and think, ‘I would like to see Siberia.’ Reading was the way I traveled before I could travel.
Q. Do you experience writer’s block?
A. I have more books than I have years to write. I’m fortunate to have many things I love to do that take me away from my writing, revitalize me. In the summer I will finish work at six, drive to Jackson Lake or Jenny Lake, and paddle until almost dark. It’s so peaceful. It’s the way I solve my writing problems.
