Event and Book

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.

Doors open at 6 p.m. with a cash bar and live music. The event begins at 7 p.m. and includes a Q&A and author signing. Each ticket comes with a hardcover copy of Memorial Days.

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.

Geraldine was immediately forced to contend with red-tape demands and endless to-do lists. Unlike many cultural and religious traditions that expect those who are grieving to step away from the world, she–like many of us–was given no space to grieve. Her sudden loss became a yawning gulf.

Three years later, she booked a flight to a remote island off the coast of Australia with the intention of finally giving herself the time to mourn. In a shack on a pristine, rugged coast she often went days without seeing another person. There, she pondered the various ways in which cultures grieve and what rituals of her own might help to rebuild a life around the void of Tony’s death.
 
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.

EVENT DETAILS

NWS has virtual and in-person ticket options for all of its events. You can see Geraldine Brooks in-person at Lars Hockstad in Traverse City, Michigan, or buy livestream tickets and watch from anywhere in the world. For in-person ticket holders, doors open at 6 p.m. with live music. The event begins at 7 p.m. and includes a Q&A. Geraldine will personalize books after the event. For virtual ticket holders, the livestream opens at 6:50 p.m. and the event starts at 7 p.m.

Each ticket comes with a HARDCOVER copy of Memorial Days. Student tickets do not come with a book.Ticketing fees will be added to ticket prices below. Signed books are only available at the event. Please note that the book publishes on Feb. 4, 2025.

IN-PERSON TICKETS:
In-person tickets are $20 plus book:
One Ticket plus ONE book: $44

STUDENT TICKETS: (Books are not included)
Student Tickets: $10

VIRTUAL TICKETS are $15 plus a book (ticket fees and shipping costs not included). You can opt to pick up your book at Horizon Books in Traverse City or have it shipped to you for with an $8 shipping fee.
Virtual Ticket: $40

Why do I have to buy a book with my tickets?
NWS will often include a book with every ticket (or two tickets). We sometimes bundle a book with a ticket to lure a high-profile author to our fine small town. This is now a common practice with authors on book tours—their publishers require the bundle, not only to introduce the author to his or her readers, but also to sell books. Please note, all books are 20 percent off.

What if I already purchased the book?
If you already have the book, the book with your ticket makes a great gift for friends and family. Or, you can donate your book by contacting our office manager at [email protected]. If you can’t afford to buy the book with a ticket, please use the code BookChampion (one word) when buying a virtual or in-person ticket.

Is this event kid friendly?
Most of our events are not appropriate for children.

Geraldine Brooks is the author of six novels, including Horse, People of the Book, Year of Wonders, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning March. She has also written acclaimed works of nonfiction, including Nine Parts of Desire and Foreign Correspondence. Her writing has been translated into over 25 languages and has collectively sold millions of copies around the world. Born and raised in Australia, Brooks now divides her time between Sydney and Martha’s Vineyard.

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.