Event and Book

Meet Jeannette Walls, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle, her unforgettable childhood memoir that sold more than 5 million copies wordlwide. 

Walls will talk about her writing life and newest novel, Hang the Moon, with guest host Susan Odgers. Her highly anticipated novel follows the journey of Sallie Kincaid, a feisty and fearless, terrified and damaged young woman who refuses to be corralled in her small Virginia town during the Prohibition era.

Sallie is the daughter of the biggest man in a small town, the charismatic Duke Kincaid. Born at the turn of the 20th century into a life of privilege, Sallie remembers little about her mother who died in a violent argument with the Duke. By the time she is just eight years old, the Duke remarried and had a son, Eddie. While Sallie is her father’s daughter, sharp-witted and resourceful, Eddie is his mother’s son, timid and cerebral. When Sallie tries to teach young Eddie to be more like their father, her daredevil coaching leads to an accident, and Sallie is cast out.

Nine years later, Sallie returns, determined to reclaim her place in the family. That’s a lot more complicated than she expected. Sallie confronts the secrets that hide in the shadows of the Big House, navigates the factions in the family and town, and finally comes into her own as a bold, sometimes reckless bootlegger. This event takes place at 7 p.m., May 3 at the City Opera House.

Ticket Options:

This is a bundled event, meaning that copy of the book is included with ticket purchase.

• • Tier One tickets, you can purchase two tickets and one book for $75 or one ticket and one book for $49, or
    
  • Tier Two tickets, you can purchase for two tickets and one book for $55 or one ticket and one book for $39.
  • Virtual tickets are $38 and include a copy of the book.
    

Remember: All National Writers Series events serve our Raising Writers efforts! Your ticket purchase helps to fund classes, scholarships, workshops, and author masterclasses for students throughout northern Michigan.

Jeannette Walls graduated from Barnard College and was a journalist in New York. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, has been a New York Times bestseller for more than eight years. She is also the author of the instant New York Times bestsellers The Silver Star and Half Broke Horses, which was named one of the ten best books of 2009 by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Walls lives in rural Virginia with her husband, the writer John Taylor.

Susan Odgers is past chair of the Keweenaw Storytelling Center in Calumet, and since 1989, she’s taught psychology at Northwestern Michigan College. Susan is on the boards of the Traverse City Human Rights Commission, Michigan Writers, Traverse Area District Library, and the Central Neighborhood Association. A two-time Ragdale Fellow, her column “Adapted in TC” has appeared in the Traverse City Record Eagle for the past fourteen years, and, she’s a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. A recipient of the Sara Hardy Humanitarian of the Year award, Susan was recognized as one of the 2021 Influential Women of Northern Michigan.