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Artist Spotlight: Inez Ribustello
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: INEZ
Ribustello
BY CHRISTINA RUOTOLO
Inez Ribustello, owner of On the Square restaurant and Tarboro Brewing Company in Edgecombe County and TBC West in Rocky Mount, has just published her 9/11 memoir, “Life After Windows,” coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. Part memoir, part love story to New York City and wine in all its voluptuous forms, it’s also a story about grief, the aftermath of grief, and how we create the place we call home. Raised on a farm in eastern North Carolina, she cast her career net wide, reached for the windows of the world and even when tragedy and her life plan shifted, Inez eventually found her firm footing in the world again. This is her moving tribute to loss, life, and wine. I had the pleasure of meeting Inez, reading her book, and interviewing her, so let me introduce you to Inez, a wife, mother, friend, writer, restaurant owner, brewery owner, lover of wine and eastern North Carolina neighbor.
Q: I read your book and it was remarkable. It was moving, heartbreaking at times, but more than anything, it had a beautiful humor to it. I love how you were able to show us the grief that 9/11 survivors endure on a daily basis, but you also showed us the humanity of everyday life and how grief acted as your catalyst for change in the decisions you made after 9/11. Tell us how you shifted from “before” and “after” and why you waited so many years to write this story. A: The story has been written since before 9/11, but
Photo by Willow Mercando
the real reason I waited so long to put it out there is twofold: firstly, finding the courage to let others know the personal pain and personal joy I felt; and secondly, because there is a part of me that knew the story wasn’t finished before now.
Q: After 9/11, you said that you were a walking archetype of a 9/11 survivor saying, “Even though I was alive, I carried with me all of the people who were killed that tragic morning. My face was a constant mirror of that incredible, unimaginable sadness. I have never broken a bone, but my heart had broken open enough to feel like every single one in my body had.” What have these survivors imprinted on you, or how has their tragedy helped you move forward and gain that firm footing? A: Grief is a transformational dimension that affects people in more ways than can ever be known by just one person. The loss of meaningful relationships, whether it be the loss of a spouse, a parent, a child or a dear friend, changes one’s way of living. For me, while mourning these friends and the events of 9/11, I also experienced healing through existing and future relationships. The new friendship with Maggie, my dear friend whose boyfriend was killed on September 11th, is an example of the beauty that only came because of the loss on 9/11.
Q: Were there any areas or sections of the book you found hard to write other than the obvious 9/11 sections? A: It was really hard to actually write the chapter about my namesake and grandmother Nana. Even now, when I read her chapter, my heart aches with mourning of her no longer being here on earth with me.
Q: In your book, you show readers who feel “broken into a million pieces” like you that they have the ability to “rebuild again.” What lesson or emotion do you hope readers will gain after they finish your book? A: The world will not stop throwing immense pain at us in unimaginable forms. This is inevitable. My desire in putting “Life After Windows” out into the world was that readers who have experienced deep grief and mourning would be able to see the glimmers of hope and joy that eventually come with time.
“Life After Windows,” by Inez Ribustello, was released Sept. 11, 2021, and can be purchased wherever books are sold. You can also find her book at Rusty’s Bookstore in her hometown of Tarboro and Barnes and Noble in Greenville.
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Her Magazine — November 2021 13
