Jonathan Parks-Ramage: On Writing About Trauma and Healing Through a Queer Lens, and the Forthcoming Amazon Studios Adaptation of His Debut Novel, "Yes, Daddy"
Jonathan Parks-Ramage’s debut novel, Yes, Daddy, is a dark, propulsive narrative about an ambitious young man whose life takes a nightmarish turn. It’s an exploration of trauma and grief, the painful process of healing, of the too-often marginalized LGBTQ+ community during the #MeToo era, particularly when powerful men prey upon the minds and bodies of lost young men. Incendiary and empathic, Yes, Daddy is an inquiry of life, faith, love and consent, and what it takes to reach some kind of wholeness.
I spoke with Jonathan Parks-Ramage about Yes, Daddy, what it was like to write about these heavy subjects, and the process of having his novel adapted by Amazon Studios.
Yes, Daddy tells a riveting, unsettling narrative that hooks readers from start to finish. What inspired you to write this book?
I wanted to write a book that centered a queer story of trauma and healing, that told the story of the #MeToo era through a uniquely queer lens. When we discuss stories of sexual abuse and assault, queer people are often pushed to the margins of the conversation. I wanted to correct that by painting a deeply felt portrait of a young gay man who is subjected to the type of abuse that so many queer people experience, yet rarely see reflected in the media. I hope that this book can be a part of a chorus of voices who are bringing stories of abuse out of the margins and into the heart of our cultural conversation.
Jonah, the main character, is a young, ambitious playwright who endures so much throughout the novel, both physically and mentally. What was it like to “walk,” so to speak, in Jonah’s shoes during the writing process?
This book also has personal resonance for me. I like to say that the book is personal, but not autobiographical. Like the protagonist Jonah, I came from a religious background. I also moved to New York in my early 20’s and really struggled to find myself. I felt lost; I was working at a gay restaurant where I was routinely sexually harrassed, dating much older and wealthier men, desperate for some sort of artistic success, trying to figure out who I was. It was a painful time, and I think that my personal experience definitely bleeds into the narrative.
So writing the book actually required a lot of self-reflection. I really looked back in time and examined the ways in which I moved through the world, how my actions affected others and myself.
Yes, Daddy often deals in heavy subjects (power dynamics, sexual abuse/assault, violence, suicide). Did you find it difficult to continue on in certain scenes? What were some ways that you handled those moments? What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?
I believe that writing can be therapeutic, but that doesn’t mean it’s a substitute for therapy. I think anyone writing about heavy subject matter that has personal resonance within their own life should absolutely be in some sort of therapy while writing. I think it was very helpful for me to be in therapy while writing this book and having an outlet for all my personal feelings.
Additionally, I wanted to make sure that the depiction of trauma and its aftershocks felt not only realistic, but also responsibly rendered. For this, I conducted comprehensive research. Among the many books and articles I consulted during the years I was working on the book, I found The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk to be an absolutely essential resource. It is a fantastic book that adopts a holistic approach to treating and dealing with trauma. Know My Name by Chanel Miller is also an incredible memoir about Miller’s own sexual assault and the added trauma of being thrust into the horrific machinery of the legal system in an attempt to find justice.
What was your favorite scene to write?
I think that the ending was my favorite part of the book to write. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I will simply say that it was important for me to end the story in a place of hope. Jonah endures so much trauma over the course of his life and it was important to me that he find a path out of all that pain. As queer people, we know all about unhappy endings to stories of trauma. We’ve lived them. So I didn’t want to end the story in that familiar place of tragedy. I wanted to present the real possibility of hope.
Your writing has been published in Vice, Slate, Out, W, Atlas Obscura, and Elle, just to name a few. Do you think these publications helped prepare you to write this novel?
Through my journalism, I focused frequently on important social issues that impacted the LGBTQ+ community. I always approached these stories with a commitment to get the details right, to really get to the heart of issues that deeply impacted my community. In many ways, I think the types of questions I was asking as a journalist carried over into this novel.
Yes, Daddy is to be adapted by Amazon Studios. What’s it like to have your book adapted? Can you talk a bit about this process?
I’m so thrilled to be working with queer collaborators who truly understand what I’m hoping to achieve with this narrative. The series is produced by Patrick Moran and adapted by queer filmmaker Stephen Dunn. Stephen directed the fabulous indie queer film Closet Monster and is showrunning the upcoming Queer as Folk reboot for Peacock.
Writing a novel is a process that requires so much solitude. When I write, I attempt to enter a dream state, where I tap into the consciousness of my characters. I hope that the resulting work is something that embodies a lived experience, rather than pointing to it. I want to create stories and characters that come alive through words.
Film is a very different medium; the work is brought to life through photography, through sound, through music, through the performance of an actor. There are so many people involved and it is ultimately a much more collaborative art form. On the adaptation of Yes, Daddy, I’m grateful to have collaborators who not only understand the vision I had for my book, but who are also determined to faithfully adapt the material and treat the subject matter with reverence.
Moving into some lighter questions, who are the writers that most inspire you? Do you have any must-read recommendations?
There are so many contemporary queer and trans authors whom I absolutely love, I’d be here all day if I had to name them all! Alexander Chee, Garth Greenwell, Carmen Maria Machado, Robert Jones Jr, Sam Lanksy, Garrard Conley, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Kristen Arnett, De’Shawn Charles Winslow, Rivers Solomon, and Torrey Peters are just a few of the people who are inspiring me at this moment. Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters is the most recent novel I read, and it is one of my favorite books in recent memory. I highly recommend it!
Any advice for writers who are looking to write and/or publish a debut novel of their own?
Write about something that fills you with passion. Write the story that only you can tell. Write a narrative that you’ve never seen before. If something is deeply important to you, then that fire will come through on the page. Also, it is incredibly difficult to get a novel sold and the journey toward publication can be a long one. That’s why it’s doubly important that you’re passionate about your book, because this is something you will be working on for years. Finally, good luck and happy writing!
Jonathan Parks-Ramage is a Los Angeles based novelist, screenwriter and journalist. His debut novel, YES, DADDY, is now available wherever books are sold. Amazon Studios is currently adapting the book for television. His writing has been widely published in such outlets as VICE, Slate, OUT Magazine, W Magazine, Electric Literature, Atlas Obscura, Literary Hub, Elle and Medium. He has lectured on journalism and creative non-fiction at Fordham University. He is also an alumnus of the 2018 and 2019 Bread Loaf Writers' Conferences.
About the Interviewer
Coty Poynter is the author of two poetry books. His most recent, Delirium: Collected Poems, was published by Bowen Press. His work has appeared in Black Fox Literary Magazine, Equinox, Grub Street, and Underwood Press. He lives in Baltimore with his partner, their cat Pudge, and a hodgepodge of plants.
