The Writing Life The craft of life writing with Fiona Mason
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Oct 23, 2023 Author Fiona Mason discusses her memoir '36 Hours' on The Writing Life podcast. She explores writing about death, receiving funding from Arts Council England, and balancing promotion with new creative projects.
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Writing The Last 36 Hours Minute By Minute
- Fiona Mason wrote 36 Hours by recording minute-by-minute memories of her husband's last 36 hours in first person present to capture the intensity.
- She wrote in bursts, producing chunks quickly then stepping away because the material was too raw to handle continuously.
Hour By Hour Structure Deepens Reader Empathy
- Mason chose an hour-by-hour structure to immerse readers in the claustrophobic domestic space and the care routine during the last days of life.
- The format lets readers walk alongside the narrator rather than observe at a distance, intensifying empathy and practical understanding of caregiving.
Michael's Background And The Cruelty Of Brain Metastases
- Michael, Mason's husband, was a computer scientist who earlier worked as a builder and plumber and whose brain metastases changed his personality during illness.
- That personality change amplified the tragedy for Mason because she watched the intellect she loved alter as the disease progressed.