Ellington

Keigon Lowery, a fifth grader at Jackson Academy, has spent the past year doing something not many 10-year-olds do: writing his own book. "My Dad and Me," which Lowery's father, Bobby Lowery, self-published, released on Saturday, June 15.

When Keigon Lowery was 4 years old, his mother, Callie, was killed outside of Cleveland, Miss., after an argument among a group of women escalated into a shooting. Lowery was only a few feet away when it happened. He moved to Jackson with his father later that year.

Bobby told the Jackson Free Press that his son began writing "My Dad and Me" in 2018 shortly after he encouraged Lowery to try to write a paragraph a day in his journal about his thoughts and feelings about the incident, as if he was telling a story.

"When something so dramatic happens in a kid's life, they may not want to talk about it, but through writing, they can say what they feel without thinking someone is looking over their shoulder or judging them," Bobby says. "It's just them and their own words. After having talked about this with Keigon, father to son, I felt it was a good way for him to put his feelings on paper without holding back."

Lowery finished writing his book around December 2018. Then, Bobby began researching the process to self-publish a book online. He was able to print and license the book around April 2019, and has opened discussions with an anonymous, potential donor about distributing physical copies of the book.

“Keigon’s book is his way of reaching out a hand to other kids who may have gone through a similar situation to his and helping them get through the kind of pain he went through at such an early age,” Bobby says. "We hope it can also inspire adults who may have felt lost after losing a mother or loved one when they see that Keigon didn't let something like this stop him. He's a normal 10-year-old who's now writing about something important to him."

Lowery is an honor student at Jackson Academy and enjoys spending time hanging out with his father at radio station 97.7 in Jackson, where Bobby works as DJ Kool.Laid. He also wants to work for NASA when he grows up.

"I want to join NASA because I love to build things," Lowery told the Jackson Free Press. "I like making things like the U.S. Capitol building out of Legos and planning and drawing out rocket designs. I also like building model rockets and want to be able to make real ones someday."

Bobby says he and Lowery plan on doing a press run to promote the book in New York City this summer, and also hopes to promote the book on "Good Morning America" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

"When I finished writing 'My Dad and Me,' it felt like a weight off my shoulders," Lowery says. "Now that I finished it and my dad is helping me get it out, I hope it can help encourage other kids around the world."

Digital copies of "My Dad and Me" are $14.95 each and are available online at mydaddyandme.us.