LOS ANGELES – The world is constantly changing — technology, sports, the environment, politics. So how do you raise a new generation of children in a country that’s changed so much from when you were a kid? In his humorous and heartwarming memoir “Not Your Father’s America,” (Jan. 17, 2023, Chandler Press) longtime Hollywood producer Cort Casady exposes the emotional turmoil, joys and challenges of bringing up triplets in an America vastly changed from the one in which he was raised.
Barbara and Cort were a happily married couple when they decided to have children. But they had no idea the struggle and dangers they would face getting pregnant, as well as a heartbreaking loss. When the couple finally become pregnant and safely deliver triplets, they must dive in — overwhelmed and outnumbered — to face the exhausting and unrelenting demands of caring for three babies at once. Following the boys as they grow up, Casady includes numerous anecdotes, stories and ingenious discoveries that every parent can appreciate. Through it all, the author offers insightful commentary about his father’s America, the America he and his brothers were raised in, and the America his sons are inheriting, all while examining how economic injustice, deregulation and greed are affecting and undermining the American experience.
“Not Your Father’s America” is a vivid account of an extraordinary family forged out of determination, patience, acceptance, discipline and love — lots of love.
About the Author
Cort Casady has won two Emmy Awards and three NAACP Image Awards for his work as a television and documentary writer-producer. He won his first Emmy for “New York at Night Starring Clint Holmes,” and his second for the “American Film Institute (AFI) Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Mel Brooks” (2014). His numerous credits include creating the original story and characters for the television mini-series, “Kenny Rogers as The Gambler,” helping to format and launch the long-running reality competition series, “Star Search” with Ed McMahon, and co-creating television’s first weekly environmental series “Earthbeat”, which aired as “Network Earth” on TBS for five years.
Since 2003, Casady has served as Supervising Producer of the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award tributes to America’s leading actors and filmmakers. In addition to his Image Award-winning specials for Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Lionel Richie, he has also written and produced televised musical-documentary tributes to R&B legends Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle and Chaka Khan..
Casady is the co-author of two previously published books: “The Singing Entertainer: The Art & Business of Being a Professional,” a how-to book for performers; and “You Oughta Be Me: How to Be a Lounge Singer and Live Like One by the Fabulous Bud E. Luv,” a humorous faux autobiography of a delusional performer. Casady is also the co-author with Mary Miller of the musical play, “King of the Road: The Roger Miller Story” which had its world premiere at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach, California, in 2017.
Born in McAllen, Texas, Casady grew up in El Cajon, California, near San Diego. After graduating from Harvard with an honors degree in government, Casady moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career in the entertainment business. He and his wife, Barbara raised their triplet sons in Manhattan Beach, California. They now live on the Palos Verdes Peninsula south of L.A. For more info on Casady, visit cortcasady.com.
Follow Cort Casady on Instagram: @cortcasady
In an interview, Cort Casady can discuss:
- His long and varied career in the entertainment industry as a writer and producer
- The intimacy of writing and publishing a memoir
- How his family’s journey with infertility and IVF informed the writing of his memoir
- How the memoir incorporates subjects like deregulation and climate change into the narrative and why those topics are pertinent to parenting
- What he hopes readers will take away from reading his family’s story
An Interview with Cort Casady
What made you decide to write a book about your experience as a father?
After I became a father, I initially thought about writing an open letter to our sons. I wanted to give them a sense of what we went through to have them and raise them as well as some perspective on the America they were being born into, beyond the obvious “before there was Google.”
What I finally decided to write, as I explain in the preface, is a book that combines two passions, serves two masters and weaves together two decidedly different narratives.
One is a narrative about what it’s like to be hit by the “baby bus” and have three kids at once. The other is a series of reflections along the way, as the boys go from being infants to toddlers to adolescents and young adults. About the America my father grew up in, the America I came up in, and the America our sons are inheriting.
How has your experience in the entertainment industry helped you — or hindered you — when it comes to writing books?
My experience as a working writer, first as a freelance magazine writer, then as a staff writer in television, prepared me to be an author. I first learned that I could write in college. When I finished writing my thesis, by myself over the Christmas holiday break in my senior year, I realized I could write and, more importantly, finish what I was writing. That, and a good outline, enabled me to complete the first book I wrote, for singer John Davidson.
The book is very personal: How did you decide what details you would include and what topics were off-limits?
Fortunately, there weren’t a lot of details I couldn’t include in the book. Barbara read each draft, so I felt confident there wasn’t anything inappropriate in the book. In writing about our sons’ experiences with a bad coach in high school, I decided not to go into too much detail. It was such a disturbing time; it could almost be a book on its own, a book I have no desire to write, by the way.
What do your family members think about you writing the book?
Barbara read virtually every draft of the book as I was writing it. She corroborated memories, corrected facts, and typos, and encouraged me frequently throughout the process. Our sons encouraged me throughout the process of writing and getting the book published as well. Having shared notes and journal entries with them before I started writing in earnest, they had a pretty good idea of what Dad was going to write. All three have fully supported the project and believe it’s a story worth chronicling. They’ve been very complimentary.
What do you hope readers gain from this book?
I hope readers will take away what we learned raising triplets: Don’t panic; take it one day at a time; stay committed; and don’t give up. I also hope they’ll be reminded that we have a lot of work to do as a country to live up to the promise of America, a promise I fervently hope our children will experience. I also hope readers will take seriously what we all must do to meet the climate crisis. The clock is ticking.
What projects are you working on that people can look forward to?
I’m developing a feature-length documentary film. 100% Possible: The Battle for the World’s Energy Future is about a series of science-based plans to power America and more than 100 other countries with electricity generated solely by wind, water, and the sun. Developed by a group of scientists led by Stanford University climate professor Mark Jacobson, the plans will be presented to the general public for the first time in this groundbreaking film. A positive, solutions-driven documentary, the film will document how clean, renewable energy will slow global warming, deliver environmental justice, and create millions of jobs worldwide.
A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.
Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.
