An Interview with Elizabeth Eastwood

Elizabeth Eastwood is a retired editor, developer, writer, and publisher of curriculum materials and textbooks for elementary school students. A former teacher, she produced teaching guides and authored articles and newsletters about best practices. In the early 1990s, she adopted two Peruvian children as a single woman and raised them in a suburb of San Francisco. This is her first trade book.

---

---

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Lessons from My Children was my working title for years. No one liked it! I played around with dozens of other possibilities. None felt right. While editing the book for the umpteenth time, I became aware of how frequently I used the phrase ‘I’m with them.’ Because my children and I don’t look at all alike, I often had to explain our relationship. That’s when I’m with Them became the title of my memoir. I never once had second thoughts. Lessons from My Children as the subtitle made sense because it was always the guiding principle of the memoir.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I wanted to write the memoir because I didn’t know of any books that told the interracial adoption story from a parent’s point of view. While adopted children have written fantastic memoirs as adults, I felt that I had a unique perspective as an adult seeing what my children saw, hearing what they heard, and feeling what they felt. Plus, as an adult, I could express shock at unreasonable situations or call out people for what they were – thoughtless or ignorant, racist or xenophobic.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

My first writing gig involved creating stories for fifth graders that included statistics that kids could use to make up their own math problems. That was the beginning of my career in educational publishing. My favorite project was writing illustrated early readers. Often just one sentence on a page. The limited vocabulary and minimal decoding skills made telling a story in words extra challenging. Writing a memoir is easy in comparison.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

The most rewarding part has been finding out how much the memoir resonates with readers, even those who aren’t parents. I’ve received feedback such as ‘can’t put it down,’ ‘vivid, honest, heartfelt,’ and ‘beautifully written.’ It’s been surprising how much interest there is in the book. People are keen to talk about the issues raised in the book, either with me or in their book clubs.

What creative projects are you currently working on?

I am working on a novel about two brothers who are only one year apart in age, yet different in every way. The story spans seven decades as the siblings grow up, go to college, marry, have children, and establish careers. With their busy lives, lack of common interests, and divergent political opinions, the two become increasingly estranged until a shocking event in the national news creates a crisis that motivates them to repair their familial ties.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

Atmosphere Press is an efficient, no-nonsense publishing company. The process took a short eight months. The team never said ‘no’ to my sometimes-quirky requests. For example, I had a particular vision for the introductory vignettes, and the interior designers made it work. Readers have mentioned how much they like those passages. People love the cover too, with its bold colors and metaphorical path through life.

---

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.