First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing is a literary podcast produced and hosted by Mitzi Rapkin. Each week the podcast features an in-depth interview with a fiction, non-fiction, essay, or poetry writer. The show is equal parts investigation into the craft of writing and conversation about the topics of an author’s work.

ABOUT DÈY

Taking as its title a Haitian Kreyòl word for mourning, Dèy is a profoundly warm and moving novel about the importance not only of sharing grief but also of inseverable family ties. Magnolia, a successful Haitian American real estate agent in Miami, hears the terrifying sounds of gunfire while shopping at a mall for her daughter’s first-ever cell phone; she takes shelter in a restaurant called Oasis, cowering with fellow shoppers and diners, each praying to their respective gods. Once she’s safely home, Magnolia hides the fact that she was at the mall shooting from everyone close to her. But given her life back, she begins to see all the challenges and beauty in her family life and wonders if love and family could protect us from harm and does fear or optimism win in one’s heart and soul. Magnolia is pulled between these questions which mean high-stakes choices for her life.