Cotton Teeth was the winner of the Memoir category of the 2022 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with author Glenn Rockowitz.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Cotton Teeth, December 2021
What’s the book’s first line?
“Everything is black, my heart is a hummingbird, my lungs are in my throat and I don’t know if I’m flying or if I’m falling.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
At the age of 28, I was diagnosed with an aggressive late-stage cancer and given a prognosis of “three months at best.” My wife was two weeks away from giving birth. Upon hearing the news, my father (an atheist) asked God to give him my cancer so that I would live. Days later, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given only months left to live as well. Cotton Teeth is an account of those final weeks together as I was becoming a father, losing a father, and losing my life all at once.
It was actually the death of my stepfather many years later that put in motion a string of events that led to new news that inspired this companion memoir to my first book, Rodeo in Joliet.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Given that I am the main character, I have to say his devastatingly good looks and plucky, boyish charm. Okay, maybe neither of those things. I guess it would have to be the self-loathing and the dark sense of humor that is borne from it.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
If you are in the throes of grief or still struggling years later, or even if you are in the throes of illness or still struggling with that illness years later, hopefully this book will help you feel seen, understood, and not so alone. And hopefully even make you laugh a little along the way.
When did you first decide to become an author?
As nauseating as this may sound, it was when I discovered the music of words. I was probably 7 or 8 years old and I’ve been hypnotized by that magic ever since.
Is this the first you’ve written?
Cotton Teeth is actually a companion memoir to my first book Rodeo in Joliet.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I am a television voice actor for XBOX, T-Mobile and dozens of other brands. I am also a pro bono clinical advocate for newly diagnosed cancer patients, helping them understand and navigate the chaotic healthcare system so they can focus on healing.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The freedom. And the freedom.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Simply connecting with people who have gone through or are going through similar experiences with physical and mental health. I just want to be for others what I never had when I was in the throes of this disease.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
George Orwell. While we could not be more different in terms of style and content, he was the author who lit the writing fire in me at a very young age.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Angela’s Ashes.