Author Reading: Elayne Shapiro, My Grandfather’s Trunk, Susan Storer Clark, An Uncharted World, and Maureen Hartman, Perception
Friday June 26th
BOLD is thrilled to host a reading with Elayne Shapiro, author of My Grandfather’s Trunk, Susan Storer Clark, author of An Uncharted World, and Maureen Hartman, author of Perception.
My Grandfather’s Trunk
Growing up in Tzfat at the turn of the twentieth century, Esther does not know what to expect when she marries Moshe, a trunk-maker with dreams of following his brothers to start a new life in America. Tzfat may not be perfect . . . but what about the challenges of the new world, so strange and so far from everything Esther and Moshe have ever known?
Those challenges, after all, are considerable—from the constant economic struggle of feeding and housing a growing family; to the pull of the modernity that threatens to unravel Esther and Moshe’s Jewish traditions; to the global crises of war and pandemic; and finally, to the terrible toll taken by mental illness.
Of course, there is joy and endurance, too—more than enough for Esther and Moshe’s story to be richly retold many years later. And the retelling in this book begins when a granddaughter finds a trunk that Moshe made, and is intrigued by its meticulous, old-world craftsmanship.
An Uncharted World
An Uncharted World is a novel of historical fiction, set in the sixteenth century, against the backdrop of the worldwide trade of enslaved people. It is set in West Africa, Brazil, Peru, Macau, and on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. In 1574, a Yorùbá girl, Morayo, is captured near her home in what is now Nigeria. It is the beginning of a terrifying journey: slavery in Brazil, servitude in Peru, and capture by privateer Francis Drake on his way around the world.
Can Morayo regain her freedom? Is there any way she can get back to her home?
Meticulously researched and inspired by the true story of a real African woman, An Uncharted World is a tale of resilience is told through Morayo’s eyes, and through those of a wide range of characters: priests and pirates, aristocrats, freed slaves and the divine trickster Èṣù. It takes the reader around the world and into the uncharted depths of the human heart.
Perception
Mia Ellis returns to her hometown after her father suffers a debilitating stroke. If it weren't for her half-brother, TJ, she wouldn't have returned, for she has no love for her father. He'd gone to Haiti as a social scientist with an American NGO, then left after learning he'd be a father. But when Mia confronts him in his hospital bed, unable to express himself clearly, he motions clumsily to the table beside him and says what she thinks is "All There."
This leads her to a cache of his personal journals, which take Mia on an unexpected journey that unravels the complexities of love and redemption. As she delves into his private thoughts, Mia uncovers a father she never knew, shaped by his own secrets and regrets.
PERCEPTION, the second book in the SPIRIT series, is a poignant exploration of family, forgiveness, and the untold stories that bind us together.
Elayne Shapiro is a graduate of the University of Illinois, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and has an MA and PhD in Communication from the University of Minnesota. She taught in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Portland for thirty years. In addition to academic articles and a text, Reading the Bible; Transforming Conflict, Shapiro gave workshops in conflict management and family communication. She mediated in Small Claims Court for thirteen years and has volunteered as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for eleven years.
My Grandfather’s Trunk is historical fiction. Based on a family secret Shapiro observed in her own extended family, it explores issues of class, ethnicity, and mental health in a twentieth-century Jewish immigrant community.
Susan Storer Clark reads history and asks questions. She started when she was a child and continued to do so while she was working on her advanced degree in sixteenth-century history from King’s College London. She asked questions for a living as a broadcast journalist for about 25 years, working at such places as WRC-TV in Washington, DC, and the Voice of America. She and her husband Rich currently live in the Seattle area, where she tends her garden and sings in three different musical groups.
Susan writes about resilient women facing powerful social and cultural obstacles. An Uncharted World is her second novel of historical fiction.
Maureen Hartman was born and raised in Wisconsin but has been an Oregonian for four decades (plus or minus) and enjoys all the advantages of living in the Pacific Northwest. She loves to hike, kayak, cross-country ski, garden, and, of course, write. She is currently working on the third novel in her SPIRIT series, about a small Midwestern town wrestling with the rise of a right-wing movement.
Arrive at 6:30 p.m. to grab a snack or drink. The event will start at 7:00 p.m.
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Event cohosted by BOLD Coffee & Books and Indigo: Editing, Design, and More.
