“Act of Love” by Seth Freeman appeared in Issue 39 and can be found here.
Tell us a little about this piece.
I knew a couple who faced a dilemma in trying to conceive similar to that of the couple in the story, and while I was sympathetic, aspects of their plight struck me as having potential for a piece for the humor issue.
What was the most difficult part of this particular piece?
All writing is hard. Perhaps the hardest part is trying to make it look easy.
Recommend a book for us which was published within the last decade.
Just before Covid I received a Master’s degree in Public Health. I can recommend several timely books related to what we’ve lived through in the past few years. One of the most readable and involving is Michael Lewis’ The Premonition, a fast-paced narrative about a “kickass” public health officer in California who, with a dedicated shadow group of doctors and scientists, in and out of government, fights to protect the country from the pandemic. It is a story of individual heroism but also of appalling leadership failure at the highest levels. Lewis relates the important history of over a decade of smart, careful preparation for a possible pandemic – all ultimately ignored by the administration in power when the crisis hit. He cites a study in The Lancet from February 2021, when 450,000 Americans had died of COVID. “…if the COVID death rate in the United States had simply tracked the average of six other G7 nations, 180,000 of those people would still be alive.” His book is, thus, a riveting murder mystery, with 180,000 victims.
If you could have a drink with any living author, who would it be? Why?
Well, I imagine Michael Lewis would be an interesting person to talk to. It could also be fun to have a drink with the Edward Slingerland, the author of Drunk: How we sipped danced and stumbled our way to civilization. He is very thoughtful on the role of alcohol in human society, a topic which intrigues me also.
What are you working on now? What’s next?
Plays of mine are scheduled for production in the coming months, and I will be helpful if needed. I also have other projects for the stage in the works and for film and television, a novel, a collection of short stories, and a magazine article on which I am collaborating with a couple of very bright physicians with whom I’ve worked in the past.
Our thanks to Seth for taking the time to answer a few questions and share this story. Read “Act of Love” here: https://www.sequestrum.org/fiction-act-of-love.
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Seth Freeman writes for the stage, print and film and television, for which he created the series Lincoln Heights. His short stories have been published in literary magazines and won awards. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Southern Theatre Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Stars and Stripes, The Hill, YaleGlobal, and numerous other periodicals. There have been over two hundred sixty productions and readings of his plays in the U.S. and around the world. His work in television has received multiple Emmys, Golden Globes, Writers Guild and other awards. In 2019 he graduated with a Master’s degree from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health. He dedicates non-writing time to institutions devoted to health care, education, the empowerment of women, and human rights.