Reading and Conversation with Authors Elaine Pinkerton and Jessica O’Dwyer
Reading and Conversation with Santa Fe author Elaine Pinkerton and author Jessica O’Dwyer
Thursday, May 20th, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Register to attend this online event at https://tinyurl.com/ElaineandJessica
A virtual reading and conversation Santa Fe author Elaine Pinkerton and author of the novel Mother Mother, Jessica O’Dwyer, both of whom write about adoption and how it has shaped their lives. Elaine was adopted at the age of five and Jessica is the adoptive mother of two teenagers, and together they will have much to share and discuss.
About the Authors and their Writing
Jessica O’Dwyer is the adoptive mother to two teens born in Guatemala. A vocal proponent of open adoption and lifelong connection to birth country, she speaks and writes often on these subjects. Jessica is also the author of Mamalita: An Adoption Memoir, named Best Memoir by the San Diego Book Awards and called “harrowing and moving” by Publishers Weekly. Her essays have been published in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Marin Independent Journal, and elsewhere. An alum of writing conferences at Squaw Valley, Bread Loaf, and Sirenland, Jessica earned an MFA in fiction writing from Antioch Los Angeles. She lives with her family in Tiburon, California.
In Mother Mother (Loyola University Maryland’s Apprentice House Press, 978-1627203159, October 2020), contemporary art museum curator Julie Cowan’s life is far from perfect. Her pathologist husband, Mark, is distracted at work, while her hotshot new boss doubts Julie’s curatorial chops. And Julie’s six-year-old son, Jack (born Juan), may never recover from trauma inflicted by early life spent in a Guatemalan orphanage. At the same time, Jack’s birth mother, an indigenous Ixil Maya, navigates her own tumultuous path, beginning with surviving a horrific massacre during Guatemala’s civil war.
In this elegantly woven braided narrative, both mothers of Mother Mother must draw on fierce inner strength as they reckon with their life choices and grapple with power and race, deception, and love.
Elaine Pinkerton Coleman has been a journalist and author since 1965. She holds Masters degrees in English Literature from the University of Virginia and in Great Books from St. John’s College. Writing is the main thread in her life, but she has also worked as a ski instructor, defensive driving instructor, and an elementary school librarian. She is the author of seven books, and as an adoptee, often writes about adoption. Her latest work of fiction is All the Wrong Places (Pocol Press, April 2017), and she is currently completing a sequel, The Hand of Ganesh.
Adopted at age five, Elaine hid the fact that her original parents didn’t want her. At age ten, she found comfort in keeping a diary and escaped into the world of books. Based on four decades of journaling, Elaine shares her story in The Goodbye Baby (AuthorHouse, 978-1468598155). With diary excerpts included, along with narrative, she tells about her journey through the thorny issues of adoption, a search for healing, and an inspiring finale.
Learn more about the authors by visiting their websites!
Elaine Pinkerton Coleman https://elainepinkerton.wordpress.com/
Jessica O’Dwyer https://jessicaodwyer.com/
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN NEED OF ACCOMMODATIONS, CONTACT THE LIBRARY AT 505-955-6788, FIVE (5) WORKING DAYS PRIOR TO MEETING DATE.