By: Clara Donnelly
Lorelei Brush’s Chasing The American Dream: A Novel is far more than a historical thriller set in 1955—it is a deeply personal exploration of family, identity, and the moral ambiguities that define the human experience. At its core, the novel follows David, a former OSS operative, as he tracks a Nazi war criminal hiding in plain sight, but the story is also an intimate reckoning with Brush’s own father and the myths that shaped her childhood.
Growing up, Brush’s father spun tales of wartime heroism, portraying himself as a spy behind enemy lines. “My father was a very angry man and aimed his strong feelings toward everyone in his orbit,” Brush recalls. “He claimed to have wanted to be a doctor but was unable to afford it, yearned to be an entrepreneur but couldn’t bring a small engine company out of near-bankruptcy, and had sworn never to have children.” For years, Brush avoided her father, seeking distance from his temper and the weight of his expectations.
It wasn’t until she began researching her father’s past in the National Archives that the truth emerged: his wartime heroics were largely fabrications. “The discovery that he was not the hero he had described elicited from me several curses at him and then laughter,” she says. “He wasn’t this perfect god who must be obeyed but a very human man whose goals were unfulfilled. I was freed to be the person I wanted to be and could forgive him, one adult human to another.” This revelation became the emotional seed for Chasing The American Dream, allowing Brush to explore heroism, personal ambition, and moral gray areas with honesty and nuance.
David, the protagonist, longs to be a hero, driven by ideals of patriotism and justice, yet the complexities of morality confront him. “Though David is only roughly drawn from my father, this characteristic of taking a belief to an extreme was definitely one of my father’s flaws,” Brush explains. “He didn’t see gray zones. I was sure my character, David, would not give up his quest for justice easily. It took what he viewed as the failure of the justice system and the potential loss of family to stop him!” The tension between idealism and reality gives the novel its emotional depth, allowing readers to wrestle with questions about the nature of heroism and the cost of pursuing justice.
Brush’s decades of experience writing government reports—proposals, data analysis, and policy drafts—shaped her approach to David’s “spycraft.” “I’m happy dealing with statistics but love to dream up multiple scenarios of what data might mean and what policies would encourage the best results,” she says. “In inventing David’s spycraft, I let my imagination flow, choosing which facts would constrain his behavior and where I’d let him go wild. Having read a good deal about spies in WWII—and watched a slew of movies—I stuck largely to historical events and let David’s risk-taking personality shine.”
For Brush, writing fiction offered a “glorious freedom” that differed from the structured demands of government and corporate work. Much of the novel was written longhand in coffeehouses, with Brush visualizing her characters as if they were actors in a three-dimensional film. “I had a clear picture of my characters playing out scenes in my mind—the setting, the emotion, the movement, the language. Sometimes I’d erase the scene and start again if it didn’t feel right,” she says. This immersive process allowed her to craft a story that is both historically grounded and emotionally resonant.
The novel underwent significant evolution during its creation. Brush experimented with multiple endings for David’s story before settling on one that emphasized personal growth and community. “I wrote at least four drafts of the ending. For a while, I had David becoming a great lawyer and orator, arguing an important case and winning. I was uncomfortable with that, as I didn’t think it showed nearly enough personal and emotional growth. In the end, I made him a family lawyer, beloved by his community—the father I would rather have had.”
Family and collective memory are central to Brush’s work. She encourages readers to examine their own family stories, separating myth from reality. “Family stories can be helpful as we work to define who we are, but they can also be harmful, as they may set unrealistic expectations,” she explains. “How much better it can be to understand the reality of who these people were and the context in which their stories occurred!” Brush’s research into her father’s life, and the myths he created, allowed her to release long-held anger and develop respect for his choices and limitations.
Beyond personal history, Chasing The American Dream interrogates the myths Americans tell themselves. What does the American dream truly mean? Who is it accessible to? Brush distinguishes the early-20th-century vision—freedom, justice, and rewards for hard work—and the material-focused 1950s version that emphasized comfort and prosperity. David’s journey reflects this tension, illustrating the fragility and resilience of the American dream as both an ideal and a personal aspiration.
Brush’s novel also navigates the moral complexity of her characters, particularly in its depiction of Dr. Gerhardt Adler, a chemist whose expertise helped build deadly wartime rockets. “By seeing the good side of a ‘villain’ as well as the evil, readers can understand his motives without excusing his actions,” she says. The approach invites reflection on morality, responsibility, and the choices ordinary people make under extraordinary circumstances.
Ultimately, Chasing The American Dream is a story about confronting truths—about family, history, and one’s own ideals—and finding humanity in imperfection. It challenges readers to explore their personal histories, question inherited myths, and consider the ethical contours of heroism and justice.
Lorelei Brush’s novel is now available in paperback and e-book formats. For those drawn to richly layered historical fiction, morally complex characters, and stories that intertwine personal history with national identity, Chasing The American Dream offers a compelling and thought-provoking journey. Grab your copy today, and immerse yourself in a tale where the pursuit of justice, self-discovery, and the American dream intersect in unforgettable ways.
Get your copy of Chasing the American Dream: A Novel today and discover a story of courage, family, and the pursuit of justice.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any entity.
