Interview: Cary D. Lowe Author of BECOMING AMERICAN: A POLITICAL MEMOIR #Interview #politics

 

Cary Lowe is the author of the award-winning book Becoming American: A Political Memoir. He has published over fifty essays on political and civic issues in major newspapers, as well as professional reports and articles in professional journals.

Mr. Lowe is a retired California land use lawyer with 45 years of experience representing public agencies, developers, Indian tribes, and non-profit organizations. He holds a law degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. He taught courses in law and urban planning at USC, UCLA, and UC San Diego, and he writes and lectures on land use and environmental issues. In addition to his legal experience, Mr. Lowe is a credentialed mediator affiliated with the Land Use & Environmental Mediation Group of the National Conflict Resolution Center.

 

Website:  https://carylowewriter.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/carylowewriter/?modal=admin_todo_tour

 

 

 

 

Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d love to
find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning?
When did you come up with the idea to write your book?

My memoir entitled Becoming American began as a stand-alone story I wrote for
relatives and friends about a trip with my daughter to Eastern Europe to many of our
family’s places of origin in Eastern Europe. I subsequently wrote more stories about my
life growing up in Europe in the years following World War II, with parents who were
Holocaust survivors. After writing a half dozen stories, I realized they were forming a
narrative that could become the basis for a book, covering not only my youth in Europe
but also our immigration to the United States and my professional and political careers
here. That first story became the opening chapter and portions of subsequent chapters.

Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

My publisher is Black Rose Writing. After unsuccessful efforts at finding an
agent for my book, I began contacting independent publishers directly. Black Rose
quickly requested the full book manuscript and subsequently offered me a publishing
contract. My inquiries with other writers whose work they had published all yielded
positive responses, so I signed with that publisher.

Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published? 

I was surprised at the difficulty in getting an agent to represent my book, despite
having published dozens of essays in major newspapers, as well as articles in professional
journals. Major publishers will not consider a book unless it comes to them through an
agent. I received numerous positive comments about the subject matter and about my
writing, but I also was told repeatedly that it is extremely difficult to interest a major
publisher in a memoir by someone other than a well-known celebrity.

Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling process?

From my own experience as a consumer, I think anything that makes a book stand
out from its competition is important to the selling process. That applies both on-line at
sales sites like Amazon and on bookstore shelves.

How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on
which would make the journey easier for other writers?

The greatest difficulty in writing a memoir that includes parts of my early life is
being able to recall people and events from those times with sufficient accuracy and
clarity. I edited or rewrote every chapter multiple times. Reading what I previously wrote
always stimulated further recollections. Similarly, researching the places where I lived or
visited in those earlier years brought back additional memories. This process was vital for
me, as most of the people who might have served as information sources are no longer
living. It required patience and determination, but it yielded a much better final piece of
work.

What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

I currently am in the early stages of writing a book about the experiences my wife
and I have had in traveling during the years since she became disabled by multiple
sclerosis and became dependent on a mobility scooter. The book describes how, on my
two legs and her scooter’s three wheels, we have traveled to twenty countries and fifteen
states. Every trip expands what is possible, on our own and with the aid of others’
kindness. Our adventures will inspire disabled travelers and will show their partners how
much they too still can enjoy traveling. This book is not yet under contract to be
published.

What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people? 

The book reveals very different aspects of my life, particularly that I first spent
several years involved full-time in activist politics, working on prominent political
campaigns and issues, and then went on to a lengthy career as a real estate lawyer.

Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

I hope that my book will demonstrate to readers how much immigrants can
contribute to the culture, politics, and economy of this country. I see this as a particularly
important goal in light of the ongoing controversies over immigration policy and whether
immigrants can become real Americans.

Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?

I want beginning writers to understand that it took me several years to write my
first book. Since completing it, I have found it far easier to move on to writing the next
one. I also have felt motivated to write more non-fiction pieces based on other travel and
cultural experiences. Two of those have been published and others are under submission.
I hope my experience will inspire others to pursue their dream of being published
authors.

Becoming American is the inspiring story of the author’s transformation from a child of Holocaust survivors in post-war Europe to an American lawyer, academic, and activist associated with such famed political leaders as Robert Kennedy, George McGovern, Jerry Brown, and Tom Hayden.

Searching for his great-grandparents’ graves in a hidden cemetery outside Prague makes him recall his experiences of becoming American: listening to Army Counterintelligence agents gathered at his family home in Austria; a tense encounter with Russian soldiers during the post-war occupation; seeing Jim Crow racism in the South during his first visit to the United States; becoming an American citizen in his teens; having his citizenship challenged by border guards; fearing for his new country upon witnessing the Watts riots in Los Angeles; advancing the American dream as a real estate lawyer, helping develop entire new communities; and rising to leadership positions in organizations shaping government policies around some of the most important issues of our time.

Becoming American won the 2020 Discovery Award for best political writing from an independent publisher. It features a foreword by bestselling author Edith Eger.

 

 

Amazon:

https://amzn.to/3njh97y

B&N:

https://bit.ly/2Gi81Qe