PHOTO: Lori Hart Beninger, acclaimed author of gripping historical novels and a moving memoir, embraces the power of storytelling to connect and heal.
Exploring Resilience, Family, And History Through Fiction And Memoir
Lori Hart Beninger reflects on crafting historical fiction, her poignant memoir, family dynamics, resilience, and the lessons life offers through her insightful and heartfelt storytelling.
Lori Hart Beninger is a literary force to be reckoned with, seamlessly weaving history, humanity, and heart into her writing. Her trilogy – Embracing the Elephant, A Veil of Fog and Flames, and A Peculiar Peace – has garnered critical acclaim not only for its evocative portrayal of the California Gold Rush era and the turmoil of the American Civil War but also for its vivid characters and emotionally resonant storytelling. Through the journeys of two teenagers navigating some of the most tumultuous periods in American history, Lori invites readers to reflect on survival, resilience, and the complexities of human relationships.
Beyond her historical fiction, Lori’s poignant memoir, An Ordinary Tragedy, delves into the deeply personal story of her younger brother’s troubled life, offering an unflinching yet compassionate exploration of family dynamics, personal strife, and the search for understanding amidst tragedy. Her writing is marked by a profound ability to balance objective reflection with heartfelt emotion, a quality that resonates across all her works.
Lori’s devotion to her craft is evident not only in her meticulous research – from the etymology of words in 19th-century America to the personal journals of voyagers during the Gold Rush – but also in her finely tuned character development. Whether bringing the indomitable Guinevere to life or exploring the emotional depths of her own family, Lori’s stories are imbued with authenticity born of curiosity, determination, and a deep understanding of the human condition.
In this candid and enlightening conversation, Lori Hart Beninger reflects on the inspirations behind her works, the challenges she faced in crafting them, and the enduring messages of resilience and hope that define her storytelling. It is a privilege to introduce an author whose works not only inform but inspire, and whose voice continues to leave an indelible mark on the literary world.
Lori Hart Beninger masterfully combines history and humanity, creating authentic characters and compelling, emotionally resonant narratives that inspire readers
What inspired you to write a memoir about your family’s experiences in An Ordinary Tragedy, and how did you decide what to include or leave out?
An Ordinary Tragedy is my love song to a brother I didn’t think I loved. From an early age, his behavior had impacted the trajectory of my family, was instrumental in my interest in child psychology, and even shaped my own decisions about family. My desire to write his story was less inspired than it was compelled: I had to understand my brother Scott before I could find peace in my own life. I left nothing out, for that would have betrayed both Scott and myself.
“I had to understand my brother Scott before I could find peace in my own life.”
– Lori Hart Beninger
How did your background in child psychology shape the way you approached your brother’s story in An Ordinary Tragedy?
Nature versus nurture is an age-old psychological question. When I made the decision to write An Ordinary Tragedy, I was leaning into the belief that although nature plays an enormous role in the development of a personality, nurture is the more powerful determiner. Regarding to Scott, I was searching for the reasons his life experiences were so different from mine: we had the same parents, there was not a huge gap in our ages, we lived in the same house for much of our lives, we traveled many of the same roads. Yet he had he opted a life diametrically opposed to mine. This is a question not limited to my family, of course. I think many of us wonder how brothers and/or sisters grow to be so different from one another.
“Don’t let oppression dictate your life: An Ordinary Tragedy is the warning, Embracing the Elephant is the hope.”
– Lori Hart Beninger
Guinevere (Guine) is the only one of my characters not based on a single real-life individual. Because, as the story opens, she is a child at a crucial juncture for development of her own personality, I wanted her to be possessed of various traits that would grow as the series unfolded. Therefore, I took a little bit of her from my own youthful experiences, from my young female relatives and, most importantly, I gave her traits that echoed my brother, Scott: her tenacity, her courage, her stubbornness (although that runs in many others of my family), and her determination not to show weakness. Guine was faced with oppressive family members and an oppressive society, but I wanted her to blossom and thrive. Both my brother Scott and I faced many of these same challenges as we matured. At least one of us blossomed and thrived.
How did you develop Guinevere’s character in Embracing the Elephant, and what aspects of her journey resonate most with you personally?
What was the most challenging part of researching and writing about the California Gold Rush for Embracing the Elephant?
Once Guine arrives in California, I found the pace of writing Embracing the Elephant hastened exponentially. I am a native Californian who already knew a lot about the area and its history. The details of her voyage to Rio de Janeiro and around Cape Horn were least known to me. However, I had the privilege of finding the personal journals of those who had experienced a treacherous voyage and a stay in Brazil that helped me capture the vibrancy and danger Guine met on that leg of her journey. Oh, and language! I learned a great deal about the etymology of words as I was writing. I did not want to use words that were not appropriate in the 1850s America, so I researched almost every word I used. I was amazed to learn that I couldn’t say that Guine “browsed” her local library, not only because there were no libraries in 1850 California but also because that word meant to graze in a field.
What lessons or insights do you hope readers take away from both An Ordinary Tragedy and Embracing the Elephant?
These are two very different books, written about different times, composed in distinctly different voices. What they have in common, other than their author, is the message not to let oppression dictate your life: An Ordinary Tragedy is the warning, Embracing the Elephant is the hope. Even if your childhood has been jostled and squashed by the ignorance of others, someday you can take charge and change its trajectory, if you put in the work.
How has writing these books influenced your perspective on family, resilience, and personal growth?
Singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell released a beautiful folk song entitled “Both Sides Now,” in which the singer contemplates two sides of clouds, life, and love. I loved that ballad and sang it around many campfires in my youth. What writing has revealed to me is that there are even more than two sides to almost everything – and I believe I have developed the ability to see those varying sides and represent them as realistic characters and situations in my books. The price of such objectivity, however, is high. Although my youngest brother, Grant, appreciated the impartiality I brought to An Ordinary Tragedy, my mother did not. Before its publication, I gave Mom the chance to correct any factual errors I had made; but I warned her that I would not re-write our family history. My book hurt her feelings because it did not paint her as the perfect mother she thought she had been. I had not meant to hurt her, but objectivity takes its toll.
