On Thursday, October 13, 2022, SAS proudly presents a day/night double-header over Zoom with Jason Mott, author of last year's National Book Award Winner, Hell of a Book (2021). The novel's narrator is an unnamed Black author who is on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling debut novel, also titled Hell of a Book. He converses with an imaginary ever-present youngster he refers to as "The Kid."
Interwoven in this plotline, is the heart-wrenching tale of a rural Southern boy called "Soot" because of his dark complexion. With magical realism, sardonic humor, and a converging narrative, this masterful fiction addresses themes of racism, police violence, love, money, and the experience of growing up Black in America. At 1 pm, Mott himself will moderate a book group in Author-Led Book Discussion: Jason Mott, Hell of a Book (2021) (Course 11520). Class size is limited for this bespoke event. At 7 pm, Mott returns for a community-wide program, Author Visit: Jason Mott, Hell of a Book (2021) (Course 11521). In conversation with cultural historian Lori Rotskoff, Mott will discuss his career as a writer of fiction and poetry with time reserved for audience Q&A. The evening program will be recorded and available to all registered students.
On Friday, October 21, 2022 at 11 am at Westchester Reform Temple, SAS hosts Author-Led Book Discussion: S.W. Leicher, Acts of Atonement (2022) (Course 11515). The sequel to her debut novel, Acts of Assumption (2018), her latest book again features protagonists and partners Serach Gottesman, a soft-spoken renegade from Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn, and Paloma Rodriguez, a headstrong, trailblazer from the Latina South Bronx, who sacrificed their families, communal ties, and faiths in pursuing their forbidden romance. An unexpected death, a seductive offer, and an arrest bring their estranged relatives and insular cultures back into their lives with devastating results.
On Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 12:30 pm at JCC of Mid-Westchester, the co-founder of Ms. magazine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, returns to SAS to discuss her newly published memoir in conversation with Lori Rotskoff. Shanda: A Memoir of Shame and Secrecy (2022) presents a wise yet funny self-examination of the author's numerous family secrets across three generations. Time will be reserved for Q&A and Pogrebin will be signing books after the talk. Students may register for either General Admission plus Book Purchase (Course 11453) or General Admission Only (Course 11452).
On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 7:15 pm at Scarsdale High School, Bobbi Rebell, personal finance expert and author of Launching Financial Grownups (2022), offers tips and tools for parents of teens and young adults who want their children to grow into fiscally responsible and financially independent adults. Students again have the choice between General Admission plus Book Purchase (Course 11498) or General Admission Only (Course 11529).
On Monday, November 7, 2022 at 1 pm, SAS welcomes Bonnie Garmus, who will discuss her debut bestselling novel, Lessons in Chemistry (2022), in conversation with cultural historian Lori Rotskoff. Set in the 1960s, Elizabeth Zott, the book's formidable feminist and idiosyncratic heroine, begins as a brilliant research chemist in a male-dominated field and becomes a single mother and reluctant star of a beloved cooking show. Deftly blending sharp social satire with heartwarming humor, Garmus delivers a self-assured page-turner that tackles the sexism of postwar America from a fresh perspective. Author Visit: Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry (2022) (Course 11436) will be recorded and available for later viewing by all registered students.
To close out the year, on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 11 am, the bestselling author of Wench and Balm, Dolen Perkins-Valdez will engage in conversation with cultural historian Lori Rotskoff to discuss her latest unforgettable historical epic in Author Visit: Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Take My Hand (2022) (Course 11526). Inspired by true events involving Black women’s involuntary sterilization in Alabama during the 1970s, Take My Hand is a profoundly moving novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible wrong done to her patients. The book sheds a timely light on issues of voice, choice, and agency over one's body. Time will be reserved for Q&A.
Register for all at www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org or call 914-723-2325 with questions.
