In spring 1965, Jerry agrees to serve as an advisor to the Vietnamese government at the invitation of his friend and
former doctor, who is the new Prime Minister. He hopes to use his deep knowledge of the country to help Vietnam. In
September 1965, while on a trip to investigate corruption in the provinces of Vietnam, Jerry dies in a plane crash in
Vietnam.
Now, more than half a century later, his sister, Lucy Rose Fischer, has drawn on her late brother’s journals, letters,
and other writings to craft his story. She has written this memoir in “collaboration” with her late brother—giving the
term “ghostwritten” a whole new meaning.
Talking Points:
• Timely resurgence of interest in
Enjoy this interview to learn more.
What inspired your story?
I had the first spark of an idea for a book on my brother sometime in the mid- to late 1980s. I was at a life history conference in St Antonio, TX where I heard an author (it might have been Tim O’Brien) sharing his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam. I thought my brother’s story would be different.
My big brother, Jerry Rose, was a journalist in Vietnam in the early 1960s. He also served for a while as an advisor to the Vietnamese Prime Minister.
When my brother died there in 1965 in a plane crash, he left behind a treasure trove of journals, letters, and other writings—all of which my sister-in-law had carefully saved. He was only 31.
My brother was a fascinating person. He was a painter and a writer. Going to Vietnam was a way to gather material for his art and his fiction. Initially, he was hired to teach English at the University of Hue. Vietnam had been a French colony, and Jerry spoke French because he had studied at the Sorbonne. He quickly became immersed in Vietnam and the Vietnamese people. He had a Vietnamese blood brother and was adopted into their family.
He became a journalist almost by accident when a friend asked him to take over his position as a stringer—a freelance journalist.
He did his own photography—because he was also an artist.
Are you a ghost-writer for your brother’s book?
I think this book gives a whole new meaning to the term “ghost-written.” I’ve written this book in my brother’s voice and listed him as first author.
My brother was a wonderful writer, so chunks of the book are drawn from his journals and letters. But a lot of the writing is mine.
It was an unusual choice to write this in his voice. It was his story and I wanted him to tell his own story, in the form of a memoir. I wrote it in present tense, as if the reader would be experiencing events along with him. That also felt right to me—because I had written my last two books in present tense.
My brother had been my mentor. He encouraged me to write.
The odd thing was—it was as if he trained me to do this—to write this book for him. While I was working on this, I felt that he was sitting on my shoulder and whispering in my ear. I could hear his voice.
What was your relationship like with your brother?
We had a very special relationship. He was eleven years older and almost a quasi-father—but a distant quasi-father because he left for college when I was only seven.
When I was a little girl and he’d come home, he would read poetry to me. When I was a teenager, he gave me long reading lists and he critiqued my writing.
I visited him and his family in Asia while he was there.
A couple weeks before he died, he sent me a very long letter with all sorts of advice. I was turning 21 and just about to get married and he wrote how important it was for a woman to have a career independent of her husband. This was in 1965—a feminist and unusual perspective for that time.
Did you follow his advice?
I really did. In fact, I decided to get a Masters in Asian Studies at UC Berkeley. And later, a PhD in Sociology. My brother has had a huge influence on me, all my life.
My career has been different from my brother’s. And I’ve lived much, much longer than he did.
What do you think your brother would say about your new book—THE JOURNALIST?
This book is coming out almost exactly 55 years after Jerry died. I think my brother would wonder – “What took you so long?”
Enjoy this interview to learn more.
What inspired your story?
I had the first spark of an idea for a book on my brother sometime in the mid- to late 1980s. I was at a life history conference in St Antonio, TX where I heard an author (it might have been Tim O’Brien) sharing his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam. I thought my brother’s story would be different.
My big brother, Jerry Rose, was a journalist in Vietnam in the early 1960s. He also served for a while as an advisor to the Vietnamese Prime Minister.
When my brother died there in 1965 in a plane crash, he left behind a treasure trove of journals, letters, and other writings—all of which my sister-in-law had carefully saved. He was only 31.
My brother was a fascinating person. He was a painter and a writer. Going to Vietnam was a way to gather material for his art and his fiction. Initially, he was hired to teach English at the University of Hue. Vietnam had been a French colony, and Jerry spoke French because he had studied at the Sorbonne. He quickly became immersed in Vietnam and the Vietnamese people. He had a Vietnamese blood brother and was adopted into their family.
He became a journalist almost by accident when a friend asked him to take over his position as a stringer—a freelance journalist.
He did his own photography—because he was also an artist.
Are you a ghost-writer for your brother’s book?
I think this book gives a whole new meaning to the term “ghost-written.” I’ve written this book in my brother’s voice and listed him as first author.
My brother was a wonderful writer, so chunks of the book are drawn from his journals and letters. But a lot of the writing is mine.
It was an unusual choice to write this in his voice. It was his story and I wanted him to tell his own story, in the form of a memoir. I wrote it in present tense, as if the reader would be experiencing events along with him. That also felt right to me—because I had written my last two books in present tense.
My brother had been my mentor. He encouraged me to write.
The odd thing was—it was as if he trained me to do this—to write this book for him. While I was working on this, I felt that he was sitting on my shoulder and whispering in my ear. I could hear his voice.
What was your relationship like with your brother?
We had a very special relationship. He was eleven years older and almost a quasi-father—but a distant quasi-father because he left for college when I was only seven.
When I was a little girl and he’d come home, he would read poetry to me. When I was a teenager, he gave me long reading lists and he critiqued my writing.
I visited him and his family in Asia while he was there.
A couple weeks before he died, he sent me a very long letter with all sorts of advice. I was turning 21 and just about to get married and he wrote how important it was for a woman to have a career independent of her husband. This was in 1965—a feminist and unusual perspective for that time.
Did you follow his advice?
I really did. In fact, I decided to get a Masters in Asian Studies at UC Berkeley. And later, a PhD in Sociology. My brother has had a huge influence on me, all my life.
My career has been different from my brother’s. And I’ve lived much, much longer than he did.
What do you think your brother would say about your new book—THE JOURNALIST?
This book is coming out almost exactly 55 years after Jerry died. I think my brother would wonder – “What took you so long?”
Facebook: @lucyrosedesigns
Twitter: @lucyrosedesigns
Author website: https://lucyrosedesigns.com/
http://jerryrosevietnam.com/
Buy links:
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B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.
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