“Take your place. The future is now, so take your place, make your mark – be the person you want to be in your family, in your community, in the world.”
Lawrence Wright is the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of numerous books, including The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. He is also a journalist (staff writer for the New Yorker), screenwriter (The Siege and Noriega: God’s Favorite), and playwright (Sonny’s Last Shot). One of the one-man shows he’s written and performs, My Trip to Al-Qaeda, has also been made into a documentary film, directed by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney. Wright also serves as the keyboard player in the Austin-based blues band Who Do. A husband, a father, and most recently a grandfather, he lives in Austin, Texas, where he is also involved in a public sculpture project, Capital Area Statues. (www.LawrenceWright.com; www.CapitalAreaStatues.com)
The Interview
Larry adapted his screenplay about love, marriage, and the craziness of the Texas legislature, Sonny’s Last Shot, into a sensational play that was a big success in Austin—and I played the lead female role. This role led directly to the epiphany that sparked this project. Larry was my very first official interview for the book (on the phone), and continues to be a supportive, inspiring role model and friend to whom I am deeply grateful.
Below are some bonus videos. I interviewed Larry on camera in August 2009, and by that point I had started asking everyone I interviewed: “If you could ask anyone in the world about their epiphanies, who would it be?” As one of the world’s leading experts (or perhaps THE leading expert) on terrorism and Osama bin Laden, he didn’t skip a beat with his answer…his fascinating musing about Osama bin Laden is the first video.
The second video is about the non-profit organization, Capital Area Statues, that he started because of his “Take Your Place” epiphany he talks about above, and the third video is about a couple of other very powerful epiphanies of his that I LOVE that I couldn’t fit in the book!
