Justin St. Germain said he drew from personal early life stories set in the Southwest to make his memoir shine.
“Son of a Gun,” which hit the shelves last month, tells the story of the life and death of St. Germain’s mother Debbie, who was allegedly killed by St. Germain’s stepfather in his hometown of Tombstone, Ariz. Divided into two parts, the book is both a narration and an investigation of the event.
St. Germain, who teaches nonfiction writing at UNM, said he understands how many of his students feel about their own lives and tries to help them see the value in their stories, much like a professor did for him once.
“I had a professor tell me about a piece I wrote that was pretty autobiographical: ‘This story’s okay, but I think there is a true story behind it somewhere. I think you’re probably going to need to write that, or you’ll just keep writing this,’” St. Germain said.
St. Germain said he was ultimately motivated to write a personal story after realizing he must either tell his version of the story “or there is no version” to tell.
St. Germain said he practices what he preaches and encourages students to write their own stories. He said he urges students to tell their own life stories, as “uninteresting” as they believe them to be.
“Whatever story they have is worth telling,” he said. “And it’s worth writing about.”
Two days after “Son of a Gun” was released, a New York Times reviewer called the book a “spectacular memoir.”
“The New York Times review changed everything,” St. Germain said. “Alexandra Fuller is well respected. When I first read it, it was probably the best moment of my life.”
Raised in Tombstone, St. Germain said his memoir also examines issues related to his mother’s death, such as violence against women and the celebration of gun violence in a town infamous for the Wyatt Earp shootout.
“(Social) class, I think, is a pretty big part of the book, and also just violence, particularly violence against women. The tragic thing is it’s a really common story. This happens a lot,” he said.
St. Germain said he thanks local reviewers and businesses for their support.
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“The funny thing about somebody in New York liking my book is it’s great, but on a day-to-day basis, it doesn’t really matter to me,” he said. “But when I go to my local bookstore and somebody says, ‘Hey, we really liked your book, we put it on the top shelf,’ that is really gratifying.”
