From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Horse comes a heartrending and beautiful memoir about the sudden loss of her husband and her journey towards peace.

In their early years together, Geraldine Brooks and Tony Horwitz were foreign correspondents reporting in conflict zones. They eventually settled down to raise two boys on Martha’s Vineyard. The life they built was one of meaningful work, good humor, and tenderness, as they spent their days writing and their evenings cooking family dinners or watching the sunset with friends at the beach. But all of this ended abruptly when, on Memorial Day 2019, Geraldine received the phone call we all dread. Tony – just 60 years old and, to her knowledge, vigorous and healthy – collapsed and died on a Washington, D.C. sidewalk.

A spare and profoundly moving memoir that joins the classics of the genre, Memorial Days is a portrait of a larger-than-life man and a timeless love between souls that exquisitely captures the joy, agony, and mystery of life.

GUEST HOST: Jacki Lyden is a host of NPR's Weekend Edition and Weekend All Things Considered. She was part of the award-winning NPR team that covered the Persian Gulf War. She wrote Daughter of the Queen of Sheba: A Memoir, which recounts her childhood of growing up with a mother who suffered from manic depression, and at times, believed she was the Queen of Sheba. She lives in Washington, D.C.

EVENT DETAILS:

Doors open at 6 p.m. with live music, and the conversation begins at 7 p.m. This event includes a Q&A session, and an author signing event following in the lobby.

Book Release Date: February 4, 2025 – Traverse City locals who’d like to read the book in advance of the event may have the option to pick up their copy at Horizon Books. Instructions will be emailed to you after your purchase.

Additional transaction fees are applied at checkout.

Individual Tickets: $44
Admits one person to the live event and each ticket comes with one hardcover copy of Memorial Days (Retail Value $25). Signed copies are only available in-person at the live event.

Student Tickets: $10
No age restriction with a valid school ID, student tickets admit one person to the live event. Books are not included.

Pay What You Can: National Writers Series is dedicated to providing experiences and events to everyone who seeks them, and in that spirit, we are happy to provide a book to anyone who cannot afford to buy it. Thanks to our generous donors, you may use the code BookChampion (one word) for a complimentary book based on the honor system.

Group Tickets:
For discounted rates on ticket packages of 20 or more, please contact marketing@nwstc.org

About Our Book Sales:

One of the most exciting parts of attending our events is getting a copy of the author’s latest book along with the chance to often meet the writer and have them personalize it after the event. National Writers Series audiences sometimes get early-access or preview editions of future best-sellers.

Each sale benefits our local partner Horizon Books in downtown Traverse City, Michigan. The bundled price of National Writers Series books is always 20% below retail, so you also get a great deal.

If you already own the featured book, the one you receive with your ticket makes a great gift for friends and family. Or you can donate it back to us at the National Writers Series, and we’ll distribute it to libraries and young writers in Northern Michigan.

National Writers Series author events are usually not suitable for children, unless noted.