Beth Macy
Beth Macy and Barbara Kingsolver discuss Macy’s new book, “Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America,” in a special event Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. in the ballroom of the Martha Washington Inn & Spa in Abingdon, Virginia. The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Washington County Public Library.
“Paper Girl” is about Macy’s growing up in the small town, Urbana, Ohio, in the 1970s and ‘80s — then returning to her hometown after being away for 40 years and seeing how it has completely changed. A once-thriving industrial town has become a hollow shell of what it once was, with entrenched poverty, out-migration of youth, drug addiction, political extremism and the death of local newspapers.
The Washington Post review called the book “a cogent and thrilling story — a history lesson made more easily digestible as memoir.”
Macy, now living in Roanoke, Virginia, is the bestselling author of several books, including “Factory Man” and “Dopesick.” These books explore the experiences of communities left behind by corporate greed and political indifference.
Macy will be in conversation with Barbara Kingsolver — novelist, essayist, poet and the author of the recent Pulitzer Prize-winning “Demon Copperhead.” Together, they will explore the themes, inspiration and insight behind their works, engaging in a thoughtful dialogue about the social, cultural and economic forces shaping today’s communities.
Tickets to the event are $75 for reserved seating and $50 for general admission. Tickets may be purchased on the website of the Washington County Public Library. There are book sales and signings by Beth Macy at the event.
The Sunday with Friends author series is sponsored by the Friends of the Washington County Public Library, a volunteer, non-profit organization whose purpose is to help strengthen the resources of the library and to make it a dynamic force in the community.
