National Writers Series is pleased to present Leif Enger, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Peace Like a River, in conversation with guest host Doug Stanton, also a bestselling author and NWS co-founder.
Leif will take the stage to talk about I Cheerfully Refuse, his newest book praised by author Kristin Hannah as “my favorite novel of the year.” It is a national bestseller and Amazon’s #9 “Top 20 Book Pick” of the year.
Set in a not-too-distant America, the novel tells the tale of Rainy, who sets sail on Lake Superior in search of his departed, deeply beloved, bookselling wife. On the water, he encounters lunatic storms and rising corpses from the warming depths. On land, he finds increasingly desperate and illiterate people, a malignant billionaire ruling class, crumbled infrastructure, and a lawless society.
Amidst the Gulliver-like challenges of life at sea and no safe landings, he is lifted by physical beauty, surprising humor, generous strangers, and an unexpected companion in a young girl who comes aboard. As time passes, Rainy’s private quest for the love of his life grows into something wider and wilder, sweeping up friends and foes alike in his strengthening wake.
Doug Stanton is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of In Harm’s Way and 12 Strong, made into a major motion picture by Jerry Bruckheimer, and The Odyssey of Echo Company. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, Time, The Washington Post, Men’s Journal, The Daily Beast, Newsweek, Esquire, and Outside.
He was awarded the 2021 Steven Ambrose Oral History award. He attended Interlochen Arts Academy, Hampshire College, and received an MFA from the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. He created the National Writers Series in 2009 with his wife, Anne, and attorney Grant Parsons. He and Anne have three children and live in Traverse City.
