“Uncovering Hidden Truths: Caroline Topperman Reveals the Secrets Behind ‘Your Roots Cast a Shadow'”
At the time, I was writing a fashion and lifestyle blog, and it was doing really well. Other bloggers were coming out with books that had anecdotes and tips—this was a thing then, and so I originally wrote it in that format, incorporating some of my family stories. The feedback from agents was that they were more interested in my family stories. I realized at the time that they were right, so I started rewriting it.
Then about seven years ago, we were moving my dad into a retirement home and I was helping him clean out his storage locker, and I found all these papers, letters, and an unpublished book written by my grandfather. And I sort of sat on that and thought about it until I finally decided this needs to be in a book. I went to the Kingston Writers Festival in 2019, and met Susan Scott, who was the creative nonfiction editor for The New Quarterly. I tracked her down later with a knapsack filled with these documents, put everything in front of her, and said, “What do I need to do for you to help me with this?” Well, she didn’t run screaming, which was to my benefit. It took us about two years of going back and forth, working and writing.
Post Comment