Portland, OR authors Sally K Lehman and Jessica Standifird will be reading from their books and answering questions.
Jessica is a Quad Cities native and will be reading excerpts from her upcoming memoir, her poetry and fiction.
Sally K. Lehman is the author of the YA novel In The Fat, a Black Bomb Books publication about a young girl dealing with the issues of pregnancy, self-harm, and institutionalization. In The Fat has been described as The Perks Of Being A Wallflower meets Girl, Interrupted.
Standifird’s upcoming memoir deals with similar issues in a visceral, straightforward way. She draws on her poetic background to deftly face a struggle that many hide from.
The two authors engage audiences during readings and Q&A sessions with reverence and sometimes even humor, creating an honest and inclusive dialogue about matters too often left in the shadows.
The event will be held at the Midwest Writing Center on Saturday, July 16 from 2-4pm. This event is free and open to the public.
Praise for IN THE FAT:
“FINALLY a book for young adults that does not sentimentalize the life or body. This book tells it gut-straight and heart-sure: youth leads with the body and she won’t do what you told her any more. It won’t surprise me if readers carry this book around with them, in purses and hands and under pillows, frayed and torn, read so hard it’s part of them.”
– Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Small Backs of Children
“The voice of In The Fat’s narrator, Sky, feels sometimes adult and sometimes childlike and is the perfect rendition of a young woman in transition — a forced transition — from girlhood to womanhood. This novel is a hard, honest look at mothers and daughters, sexuality and psychology, fear and friendship. Lehman has written a powerful book about a whole range of difficult subjects filtered through the mind and voice of a strong young character.”
– Samuel Snoek-Brown, author of Hagridden
“In The Fat is a beautifully-rendered gut-punch and a testament to the strength of young women who arrive at adulthood nearly broken. Sally K. Lehman delivers this raw tale with a deft hand and astonishing compassion. Not to be missed!”
– Mo Daviau, author of Every Anxious Wave
For more information
SallyKLehman.com
BlackBombBooks.com
InTheFat.com