“The question of whether the characters in the book are based on anyone in real life is probably the question I get asked most often,” says Gail Picco, author of What the Enemy Thinks, a vividly written novel set in the charitable sector, as we chatted in a downtown Toronto restaurant.
“And the answer to that question is that they are based on everyone I know. There are bits and pieces I’ve drawn from people I’ve worked with, grew up with, hung out with and am related to. They are hugely composite.”
What the Enemy Thinks opens with Rob Ford in the mayor’s chair and Beck Carnell, deserted by her husband, and barely able to drag her hung over self to work at Social Good, the consulting firm she owns and runs.
Beck’s key team at Social Good is an ambitious and loyal army, as driven and tormented as she is. Among them are Nick Taylor, a policy wonk and communications wizard who played college baseball at the University of Michigan, and campaign director, Jack Bain, a erstwhile political professional who’s given up chasing elections and settled down with his wife and twin sons. Yvonne Precipa, who has had more than her share of tough times growing up in Toronto, is Beck’s media relations manager, and dead set on self-improvement.
Those of us who work in in the sector know that when people think of charities, they mostly think of bake sales, volunteerism and walk-a-thons. But the picture painted in What the Enemy Thinks is that the charitable world can be as cutthroat as any other business.
“At root,” Picco says, “the book is about a woman with huge responsibilities who is faced with the worst kind of betrayal possible, and what she does to cope, so its theme is universal in that respect. But Beck works in the charity business and charity is a huge business. That’s the reality of it. The nonprofit sector is the third largest employer in Canada and the second biggest in the U.S. Within that, there are many stories to tell, not the least of which is who makes the money and the nature of our collective response to suffering.”
The world of charity fundraising is a world Picco knows well. She had her own consulting firm for more than fifteen years and has been an active consultant for longer than that, having done a stint as a Principal Strategist for Stephen Thomas Limited, to whom she sold her company, Gail Picco Associates, in 2006. She now works on her own as a “strategist in community organizing and a director of transformation.”
“Director of transformation is really a euphemism for a fixer of problems,” Picco says with a laugh. “I’m independent and come in from the outside when there is an issue that needs immediate, direct and sustained attention. It could be a stalled campaign, a pressing need to increase an organization’s capacity or succession concerns. And, the more that wool is tangled, the more it intrigues me, the more motivated I am to untangle it.”
Is that something she shares with Beck Carnell?
“The relationship between me and Beck is unique,” Picco explains. “In some ways she’s a lot like me. I’m from Newfoundland, had my own firm and can, from time to time, voice strong opinions, but What the Enemy Thinks is a work of fiction and Beck Carnell is a fictional character, so she can get away with a lot more than I can.”
Picco says she’s been Skyping with book clubs, did a Toronto launch of the book and a tour of Newfoundland with it. There are two more Beck Carnell novels in the works, the next one scheduled to come out in a year from now, entitled But for the Grace of God.
For more information go to www.meetbeckcarnell.com. To buy a copy of What the Enemy Thinks, click here.
- Jim Hilborn
