The Stunning Sound of Truth

When writers capture truth in all its facets, their work has a different ring. Authentic voices can make a believer of the most skeptical reader. The narrator’s voice in Sapphire’s novel “Push” -- the basis of the wrenching film “Precious” -- sounded so real, it convinced many people that the author had suffered the same tortures endured by her main character. Lee Daniels, the film‘s director, said, “When you read it, it’s so honest….that you begin to wonder whether or not this is real…[the author couldn’t] have written it with such authenticity for it not to be lived.…Then when I found out that this was a combination of many lives, it was staggering.”

Sapphire explains how she achieved this remarkable effect: “There was a lot of verite, a lot of reality. There’s also a lot of fantasy. I created a world for Precious where she’s redeemed and saved and touched because that never happened for me.”

The author drew many of her character’s features from observing young people during her years as a teacher in Brooklyn, Harlem, and the Bronx. She said, “If I had twenty people, sometimes I could see who was gonna make it. It wasn’t always the smartest one…it certainly was almost NEVER the toughest one.” According to Sapphire, the successful students were usually the ones who were creative. After all, she says, “What is creativity but the ability to see what’s not there? In order to have a life different from the one you have, you have to have the ability to visualize something different.”

Although Precious survives a hideous series of events, she emerges from her story as the victor. Sapphire felt that this positive outcome was essential. She remarked, “You can read these horror stories [about what happens to kids] in the Daily News [but] learning to read and write changes reality [for Precious].” The power of literacy is sacrament for most writers. And for those wondering how to change a life, count creativity as the best tool in the box.