A novel of psychologically driven fiction, GG Vandagriff’s, Pieces of Paris, takes readers on a emotional ride that winds through the darkest recesses of painful memories, plunges into unexpected realities, then climbs to breathtaking vistas of understanding, forgiveness and love. 
In Pieces of Paris we see the unraveling of Annalisse, a woman who seems to have everything until dark memories she’s kept deeply buried for years claw their way to the surface, threatening to destroy everything she holds dear. 
The story opens with Annalisse, a woman in her twenties, living a quiet, normal life on a farm in the Ozarks. She is expecting her second child and is mom to three and a half year old son, Jordan. But after four and a half years of bliss she suddenly finds herself being haunted by the past. Her predictable but seemingly happy life with husband Dennis, an attorney, begins to crumble.
The first paragraph of the book reads:
It was the simple things that undid her, Annalisse had discovered. Something as ordinary as the scent of lilacs when the air was heavy, a brief measure of Tchaikovsky, or a dream. A dream like the one she’d awakened from last night – so real she could smell the Paris Metro in it. Any of these things could revive in a moment the memories she’d spent the last six years burying. They crept under the leaden shield around her heart and found the small, secret place where she still had feeling.
So begins Annalisse’s journey of facing a past she’d blocked from her reality until piece by piece, the fragments began to fit together, forcing her to face the pain she’d thought she’d covered . . . until now. 
Leaving another life behind, Annaliese finds refuge and safety in the arms of her beloved, idealistic, husband, Dennis. He is her anchor, her strength, and she puts her past behind her to be with him, and that includes moving to his idea of the Garden of Eden . . . the Ozarks. 
When he meets Annalisse, Dennis knows she is someone unique and special. Dealing with pain from his own past and a broken heart, he focuses on this beautiful woman, vastly different from his past relationship, Annalisse immediately appears to be the perfect person to heal his disillusionment and he knows they are meant to be together. 
When the flashbacks begin, Annalisse keeps them to herself—certain that telling Dennis will destroy their relationship. At the same time Dennis is battling with a controversial legal case, fighting against an industrial firm that is trying to cover up a toxic waste dump, a case that has put his family in danger. 
As each challenge grows and pushes them apart, Dennis and Annalisse both begin to wonder if their marriage is what they really wanted or expected and if the person they are with now is anything like the person they thought they married.
Vandagriff has a true gift of words and paints glorious scenes and intense emotion in this well-paced, gripping drama. This powerful story of second chances, the gift of forgiveness, and the depth of truth will resonate with readers of all ages and stations in life. 
And in the final pages we find the true meaning of the story.
“The day I met you, all I could see anywhere I looked was pain and no possibility of making a difference. You were the only bright thing, and you came just in time.”
“I couldn’t have looked very bright. Oh, Dennis.” She buried her head in his shoulder and held on to him. “You were my only bright thing, too. How have we gotten this far with all these ridiculous expectations of each other?”
Remembering the Twenty-third Psalm he was silent, stroking her hair.
“There’s only one Savior,” Dennis told her.
One of the best ways to truly understand this story is to understand the author, GG Vandagriff. I was able to interview her and ask her about her experiences that lead up to writing this book.
M. Bell: Where did you get the idea for the book? 
GG Vandagriff: It was a combination of 3 very disparate things: 1.) A funny incident when we went canoeing in the Ozarks and David was sitting in the back and I was in the front. He kept yelling “paddle on the right” “paddle on the left”. I looked back and he wasn’t paddling at all! I started laughing at him, because he was so earnest and worried we were going to capsize. We did! We swam in that muddy, cow dung infested creek and he lost his wallet. I have rarely laughed so hard, but even at this distance, he still doesn’t think it was funny. In my writer’s mind, I thought of what a wonderful parody this was of our marriage. Paddle on the Right was the name of the story for years, until I found out what the book was really about, and had to remove the scene. 2.) The Tchaikovsky violin concerto, which I am listening to as I write this. To me, it is the most sublime piece of music written, and is so evocative of every human motion. I was so in love with it, that it veritably created Jules and his whole life and character as he appears in the book. Everything about Jules is in that concerto, except that the concerto ends triumphantly. I hope some day to meet Tchaikovsky (and Tolstoy). 3.) An incident in my doctor’s office that started me thinking: he was the same age and had been a Vietnam War protestor. So had David. I had lost my fiancé in the war. How had it affected our later lives? How did the three of us end up in the Ozarks? Did our past anger and helplessness at the government’s actions have anything to do with our “searching for Eden”? In my doctor’s case, he had graduated at the top of his class and chose to work in a small rural town where he could really help people. Ditto for David, only he was a lawyer. I just wanted to raise my children to be safe. When you read the book, you will definitely recognize all of us: Dr. Gregory, Dennis, and Annalisse. Because the Vietnam War is so far in the past, that eventually went out of the book, as it aged.
M. Bell: What was the research process for this story like? How long did you spend gathering information? 
GG Vandagriff: The research was all internal. I had to go through PTSD and then discover what was wrong with me and how to put it behind me. I was actually having PTSD over my fiancé that was killed in the war. It was very painful. But, as I said the war is not in the book. The PTSD is, however, and I have read a lot about it. The places in the book: I lived in a town that is the model for Blue Creek for sixteen years, I studied near Vienna for six months, and I have visited Paris on many occasions, starting when I was sixteen.
M. Bell: Given that this book is so personal, what was the writing process like for you?
GG Vandagriff: This book taught me everything I know about writing classic fiction. I worked closely with a free-lance editor who operated like a gem cutter. She saw the brilliance in the story, and cut away all the dross, inspiring me to write more cleanly. She even recognized things that I hadn’t realized about the story and its development and so it switched into an entirely different mode. It went from being semi-humorous (I always hide my true feelings in humor) into a book about the “hard questions” of life and marriage, and the triumph of truth over the evil that would separate husbands and wives.
M. Bell: What is the theme of the story and why did you write about it? 
GG Vandagriff: The theme of the story is the difference between narcissistic love (the feeling we have when we think, “ah this person was created just for ME) and real love, when you would sacrifice almost anything in Christlike love for your spouse. That is a big jump, and takes a complex story crafted with much difficulty to tell. It also takes a lifetime of experience.
M. Bell: What do you want readers to get from this story? 
GG Vandagriff: I am hoping that they will give more thought to their own marriages, deconstructing them to the basics, and then, with the help of the Savior, reconstructing them into Celestial marriages.

GG:  When I visited you last summer and you were so gracious to offer me bed and breakfast, etc. during my Idaho Signing Trip, I became aware you are possessed with more talents than the average person dreams of:  You are an accomplished speaker (EFY, keynote presenter, workshop facilitator, etc.), you are a musical composer, arranger and piano recording artist, you sing (and have done so professionally), you are a published author with books targeted for youth, you are a weekly Meridian columnist, and you understand and use the cyber world for public relations and are able to teach others how to stage PR campaigns.  You are a professional creativity consultant.  I’m sure I’ve missed something.  What is it?
C.S.: Well, for a time I did professional theater … and loved it, I might add. But truly the most meaningful activity of any has been to be a wife and a mother. THAT I’ve found to be the most challenging, yet rewarding experience of them all.

GG:  How do you decide which gift to focus on with your limited time when you have three very active children?
C.S.: That "limited time" question is one we all face, isn’t it—for each child of God has unique talents and they are meant to be used. How do we then engage in the gifts God has given us, yet not short-change our family? I’ve struggled with this. There was a time when my kids were living off of pizza nightly. It had gotten so regular the Domino’s delivery boy knew my family and I had my 16-digit driver’s license number memorized to write those dinner checks!

I don’t think the answer to limited time comes easily. Yet I’ve discovered that if you’re NOT using your gifts, there is an inescapable awareness that travels incessantly with you. I really do believe we promised to do certain things once we arrived here on earth. I believe it is why we each have unique talents so we can first bless our family and then mankind.

For me now those “Domino days” are long gone. I wish they’d never existed. At one point, I chose to quit everything that didn’t pertain to my children. But I had a potent dream that showed me I was to focus on both family and talents. So I’ve since discovered the answer to “limited time” (for me, at least). I now “create” early in the morning before the demands of the day heat up. As a result, I feel a sense of peaceful “discharge” that lasts throughout each day. I’m able fully to focus on my children during the remaining hours and make far more nutritious meals. It has been a tremendously freeing experience!

You asked which gift I focus on and how do I figure that out? It’s usually determined by which deadline I face! But I’m learning to wrest some of that back into personal choice.

One of the other most impactful things I’ve done is to allow joy a presence in my life. I used to feel guilty when I felt joy. Call me whacked, but I struggled for some time to allow a lightness of spirit into my life, especially during the use of my talents. I think, though, there is a surprising amount of people who also struggle with this.

Yet the good news of the gospel really is in knowing Christ paid for us and that we are allowed to feel lightness of spirit. Joy usually comes while serving others. The more I’ve spent time reading my scriptures, the more 2 Nephi 2 (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/2_ne/2/25#25) has hit home. It’s helped me realize God gives gifts SO we can serve others, whether that’s making a delicious chicken soup for someone ill or writing a transcendent symphony. It is urgent we each develop our own talents and use them to brighten an ever-darkening world. It is a truth: the world needs your talents to lift and renew hope.

GG:  What is your favorite gift or talent?

C.S.: Wow, what delightfully tough questions! That’s akin to asking which child is the favorite? For me, though, I do love being able to create a mood in a room through my music. I love being able to weave a fabric of sound that moves in and through all present, making us one in the moment. I also love doing the same on stage as an actress, creating little segments of space that escape time’s clutches and live on for months, if not years. Yet I love presenting through either written word or keynote speeches, probably for the same reason. I guess in summary, each gift when used to broaden a life, or to enlarge hope, is the same: it’s being used to renew those who may have lost faith.

GG: How did you discover how gifted you were?

C.S.: Hmmm, I’m not sure if I can answer that. Simply for the reason I never felt I was gifted. I do remember singing at the top of my lungs when I was five while on a swing in my backyard. Pity the neighbors as I toyed with composing (at full voice) to express my feelings for the day! It was during that season in my life I discovered I expressed myself better through art than simply by living like other kids. I often felt lonely; losing myself through creating or reading the dictionary or writing radio plays brought comfort. I think it’s that early loneliness that helps me understand on a deep level the loneliness, longing, or “lostness” that others feel. The arts became my early playground, even while my friends were getting healthy by jumping from jungle gyms! But am I really gifted? Not sure about that. I sometimes think “gifted is as gifted does.” :0)

GG:  What advice can you give other people about discovering their gifts/talents?

C.S.: Ahh, this is a subject I really love. I’ve always felt more “juice” helping others develop their gifts (no matter how latent or undiscovered) than helping myself. It is why I opened my consulting business at MakeYourLifeSomethingBeautiful.com. I just really thrill to help others discover their potential … to help them find why they’ve been sent to earth “for a time such as this”. In truth, it is precisely that phrase from Esther 4:14 http://scriptures.lds.org/en/esth/4/14#14 that drives me to do what I do when coaching other people. I want them to discover why they’ve been placed on this earth, at this time, in the family they have. There is a reason and I love helping others find it.

GG:  Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

C.S.: Yes, yes, yes! I wish I had understood several things MUCH earlier: that none of us are meant to replicate another’s talents or life. We are here to stand for who we uniquely are. I wish I’d understood I didn’t need to apologize for who I was. I wish I’d learned to love myself earlier. I wish I’d learned it is alright simply to be me and to create what *I* was meant to create, instead of feeling so lost. It’s why I now seek to help others find a short cut to their dreams. I took an awfully long way around!

GG:  Once someone has discovered they have a particular ability, how do they go about developing it in this busy world?  Do they have an obligation to try to do this?

C.S.: You ask such wise questions, GG! Discovering gifts is a multi-layered process. And that process is found in one word: DO. You must get out there and DO things to discover #1 where your joy is found, and #2 what interests you enough to keep working at it. One of my students discovered an immense talent with guitar. But as I told her, without effort her talent still would remain hidden.

One of the best indicators of a God-given gift is the feeling of joy. Do you feel joyful doing it? Do you feel a sense of time fading away during the activity? If so, you may very well have found an activity that is your “Esther 4:14” purpose (or at least one of them).

As to whether or not people have an obligation to develop and use their talents to bless others, this is between each person and God. But can you imagine returning home to those heavenly halls, not having used one gift to uplift another during your sojourn on this earth? Esther experienced a newly found gift of courage; what will yours or any of ours be? We can only know by seeking.

I think therein lies the answer whether or not to get busy—in balanced fashion—discovering, developing and using talents. When we move into the higher mode expressed in the thought, “Each One Reach One,” I feel this is when the true essence of 2 Nephi 2:25 is discovered.

Editor’s Note:. To learn more how you too can develop your unique set of gifts, visit http://www.MakeYourLifeSomethingBeautiful.com.