Deborah Jackson Taffa on Bonds That Get Stronger and Bonds That Never Get Made

Content Warning: This episode discusses suicidal ideation and attempted suicide. Her mother was Latina and one of fifteen kids while her dad was Native American and one of ten kids. For the acclaimed author Deborah Jackson Taffa, this meant a very large number of cousins but also a sense of alienation from both her parents’ cultural roots, a degree of being neither one nor the other. Complicating her sense of belonging was the fact that she and her late mother never really bonded, leaving Deborah to feel like an outcast in her own family as well, which led to mental health problems and an attempted suicide. But Deborah was loved, especially by her father, who read Deborah’s memoir, Whiskey Tender, and said it was accurate. Deborah was the first in her family to graduate high school and is now the director of the MFA creative writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She says all the accolades her work has received, including being a finalist for the National Book Award, would have meant nothing if her dad hadn’t loved the book. But he did.