Out now:The Accident is Fiona Lowe’s newest novel, exploring themes of grief, motherhood, trust and betrayal.
How well do you really know someone?
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This is a question best-selling Australian author Fiona Lowe explores in her latest novel, The Accident, and now she’s visiting the region to share her insights.
The Accident details the story of Freya and Hannah and their partners, Ryan and Jamie, living in the small town of Garringarup.
Hannah and Jamie are soon to be married, but on their wedding day, a tragic accident occurs, leading to devastating consequences.
As the details surrounding the accident emerge, ugly secrets start to surface.
The novel explores heavy but common themes, such as trust, betrayal, grief and motherhood.
Moral dilemmas are a feature of Mrs Lowe’s novels, which she said had been influenced by her experiences working as a midwife, sexual health counsellor and family support worker.
The Accident delves into the challenges of uncovering a truth that alters your perception of a person you believed you knew well.
“I think we only know someone as well as they are prepared to tell us, and that takes on a more dramatic effect when we’re in a relationship with someone romantically or as a friendship,” Mrs Lowe said.
“We truly believe we know and trust them, so when we find out something that we didn’t know after a long time of knowing them, it bruises our trust in them.
“That can be a lot worse if you find this information out after death, and you can’t ask them about it.
“I wanted to explore grief with the added burden of grieving for someone you thought you knew, only to discover that the person you loved had a side you never knew about.”
Another theme Mrs Lowe was eager to explore was motherhood and how it looked different for everyone.
On her way: Fiona Lowe will visit three libraries in the Goulburn Valley.
Whichever route is taken — having a child traditionally, choosing to be childless, IVF pregnancies, adoption or posthumous sperm retrieval — Mrs Lowe said each elicited its own moral dilemmas.
As a mother who underwent IVF treatment and as an employee in the field, Mrs Lowe drew on her experiences to assist her writing process for this novel.
“I channelled a lot of my experiences in the book, the decisions we had to make, the questions we were asked, and none of them are easy at all,” she said.
“Women and mothers are under the most scrutiny they’ve ever been.
“Your parenting style is always judged; everyone has opinions on what they should and shouldn’t be doing.”
The Accident is Mrs Lowe’s 37th novel.
However, it’s her eighth novel exploring modern-day moral dilemmas based in the Australian outback after she moved away from writing romance novels.
“I’m writing about things modern Australian families are dealing with today,” she said.
“I love delving into contemporary social issues — either you or someone you know has experienced these issues.”
Mrs Lowe will visit Kyabram Library on Monday, March 18 at 10.30am to discuss The Accident, the themes explored in the novel, her other books and how she began her writing journey.
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