Young spoke with Havana Times about the silences that shaped her family, the maternal power she discovered through the ancient goddess Cybele, the politics of writing about the female body, and the complicated freedom of estrangement. She is also working closely with Cuban translator Majel Reyes Quesada on a Spanish translation of Desire Lines, titled Senderos del deseo, for which they are seeking a publisher.
Selena Mercuri: The title Desire Lines refers to paths created when people depart from prescribed routes. When did that image become central to the memoir, and what kinds of inherited paths were you trying to leave behind?
Kristen Millares Young: A desire line is proof that people choose against the path that was planned for them. What moves me is that it’s collective. We may feel alone out there. We’re not.