“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” (post 1) by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Author’s birth/maiden name is omitted by Wikipedia, which is unusual

“Reclusive Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo is ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life” (1, back cover) to writer Monique Grant, who is biracial, with a Black father and a white mother (1, p. 3).

When Monique was a young child, if anything started to make her cry—like “when my cousin told me I wasn’t Black” (1, p. 33)—her father taught her to “breath in and out five times” (1, p. 32) to end her anxiety.

And so, to deal with her anxiety about writing an authorized biography of Evelyn Hugo, Monique thought “my only option is to pretend everything is going according to plan. My only plan is to lie. I breathe” (1, p. 32).

Comments

—Author’s birth/maiden name omitted by Wikipedia (2), which is unusual.

—Breathing in and out five times will induce self-hypnosis in some persons.

—Self-hypnosis may be a mechanism for multiple personality.

—Persons with multiple personality may be prone to creating fiction (lying).

1. Taylor Jenkins Reid. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. New York, Washington Square/Atria, 2017/2018.

2. Wikipedia. “Taylor Jenkins Reid.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Jenkins_Reid 

Added Apr. 28, 2023: Even an expert research librarian has been unable to find this author's birth name. I don't know why.