Bridgett M. Davis on ‘Love, Rita: An American Story of Sisterhood, Joy, Loss and Legacy’
‘I feel proud of myself for facing my fears and writing the hard parts’
Interview by Erica Ciccarone
Writing a memoir about her late sister allowed Bridgett M. Davis to honor their relationship and find closure.
What do you love most about your memoir?
I love most that “Love, Rita” captures who my sister was as a woman who battled a chronic illness, while also revealing her complexity and fullness; I love that this memoir is a microcosm of shared life experiences for so many Black women and men. I love that “Love, Rita” includes 22 letters that Rita wrote to me throughout the years, which stitch together the story of us as sisters. I especially love that the book includes family photos. Most of all, I love that writing this memoir allowed me to be in an active relationship again with my sister, as a way to better understand who she was to me, and who I am without her.
Was there anything that surprised you as you wrote?
As I wrote, I was surprised by how vivid and alive my sister felt to me again. I was surprised—even though it had been my goal—by how writing this story conjured her presence, made me feel close to her again, despite how long ago she died.
To read the rest of the interview, click here: bookpage.com
Artist’s website: bridgettdavis.com
Bridgett M. Davis is an independent filmmaker and writer known for “The World According to Fannie Davis,” about her mother's illegal lottery business in Detroit, named a Best Book of 2019 by Kirkus Reviews and a New York Times Editors' Choice. She teaches Creative, Film and Narrative Writing at Baruch College, City University of New York and has published two novels.
See Bridgett M. Davis’ Substack:
"Who's Your Audience?" by John Matthew Fox
For a long time, without even realizing it, I was trying to write fiction that pleased the wrong people.