Patricia Cornwell Speaks Of Her Wife: "Finally, I Feel Rooted Somewhere"

Crime novelist Patricia Cornwell sat with the UK's Telegraph for a lengthy interview. Generally private, the best-selling author opened up about her 2005 wedding to Dr. Staci Gruber:

"Like Scarpetta [Cornwell's protagonist], I finally feel rooted somewhere. I feel a sense of responsibility and stability that I didn't have before. I hadn't been in a long-term relationship since I got divorced in 1988 and it's hard to live that way. Being with someone who is smart and gives good advice adds tremendously wonderful elements to your life.

"What happened was that I went to Harvard to research neuroscience and was directed to meet with Dr Gruber because she's so eminently respected. It was one of those things: you meet someone when you're not looking. I've never been a soapbox person for gay rights, but now I'm in a same-sex marriage I tend to be more open, because I am outraged that it should be illegal in other states."

"If we were outside of Massachusetts and Staci were in a horrible car wreck, a hospital could forbid me from seeing her. The federal government does not honour same-sex marriage, so couples can't file joint tax returns and, in terms of death benefits, people have to go to extraordinary lengths with lawyers to try to make sure that their partner isn't evicted from the home."

Read the whole interview