Why
With no experience to speak of, what in the world possessed me to write a novel? Issues of life and death have frequently occupied my consciousness. Of course, my military experience gave me ample opportunity to dwell on mortality. Later in life, emotions arising from family tragedies provoked depression and reflection. Reluctantly at first, but soon with a deep sense of meaning, I served as head of a Jewish burial society which put me once again intimately in touch with issues of mortality.
Those ingredients, and probably others I cannot name, left me with questions that I found I could only explore by writing. Identicality is the product of that effort. It took me two years to write. I found the experience fulfilling. I expected frustrating periods of writer’s block but found the manuscript writing itself. It meant a lot to me that Phyllis, my wife, an enthusiastic reader of literary fiction, became a conscientious editor and an admirer of my writing. And it meant a great deal to receive much support from many experts in the scientific and professional fields I wrote about. And I’m deeply grateful to my beta readers, many of whom applauded my work and offered valuable criticism. I’m not sure I could have completed my manuscript without their generous time, effort and enthusiasm.