Author Talk: Junction of Earth and Sky with Susan Buttenwieser and NPR host Manoush Zomorodi

Join us for a conversation with Susan Buttenwieser, author of Junction of Earth and Sky and NPR host Manoush Zomorodi.

A sweeping and emotional debut from a dazzling new voice - for fans of The Paper Palace, The Dutch House and Betty.

Coming of age in 1940s England, Alice's life is thrown into chaos under the shadow of the war. Forced to let go of her hopes and dreams, she finds herself uprooted to America and a life she never could have imagined. Decades later, it is the 1990s and Alice's granddaughter Marnie is living out of a worn-out Chevy Nova, running heroin and cocaine along the New England coastline. Yet she carries with her memories of a nurtured childhood in hardscrabble Rhode Island, where all the disappointments of her young parents were eclipsed by her grandmother's love.

Spanning six decades and two continents, from the shores of WWII England to the underside of 1990s America, JUNCTION OF EARTH AND SKY unfolds -in multiple timelines -the enduring bond of grandmother and granddaughter, plagued by the past but determined to find their place in the world against all the odds.

Susan Buttenwieser is the author of Junction of Earth and Sky, her debut novel, and the short story collection, We Were Lucky with the Rain. Her writing has been anthologized and appeared in numerous literary publications as well as online news magazines. She has taught memoir and poetry writing for over twenty years in diverse settings including middle schools in the Bronx and Queens, libraries, homeless shelters, programs for LGBTQ youth, juvenile detention facilities, Rikers Island and a women's maximum-security prison.