In the last several weeks I have had the opportunity to speak about my memoir SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota--to my women’s book discussion group and to a local writing group. It was a chance to share the book and talk about the process I went through in the creation of it, and also to get feedback from the audience. (Most people had read the book in advance.) In both instances I gave the talk on Zoom, which worked well, although I have also done it in person, as I did at the book launch in Minneapolis earlier this spring.
In the course of the talk I discuss why I wrote the book, a little bit about the historical background of settlement houses, my own personal history as a writer, the role of memory and the research process, choices in the presentation of the material, and some of the recurring themes in the book—books and reading, travel and curiosity, my love of arts and crafts, nature, my parents. At the end I always leave time for questions from the audience. I am always impressed by the memories that are sparked after reading my book. While we all have our own unique childhoods, there are many things we share.
To schedule a talk to your book group, writing group, or community organization, please contact me by email. (A link to my email is on the home page of my website www.carolinearnold.com . SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL is available at Amazon as both a paperback and as a Kindle ebook.