Join us on Monday, November 9th at 6pm Eastern for a virtual author event with Heather Lende, the New York Times bestselling author of Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics. This amazing book, which is described as “medicine for the soul,” is our November pick for the PCL READS book group! Join us as we discuss this inspirational tale about what living in a community really means with the author herself.

GET TICKETS

ABOUT THE BOOK

Heather Lende was one of the thousands of women inspired to take a more active role in politics during the past few years. Though her entire campaign for assembly member in Haines, Alaska, cost less than $1,000, she won! But tiny, breathtakingly beautiful Haines—a place accessible from the nearest city, Juneau, only by boat or plane—isn’t the sleepy town that it appears to be: from a bitter debate about the expansion of the fishing boat harbor to the matter of how to stop bears from rifling through garbage on Main Street to the recall campaign that targeted three assembly members, including Lende, we witness the nitty-gritty of passing legislation, the lofty ideals of our republic, and how the polarizing national politics of our era play out in one small town. With an entertaining cast of offbeat but relatable characters, Of Bears and Ballots is an inspirational tale about what living in a community really means, and what we owe one another.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Heather Lende’s many essays and stories, mostly about life and sometimes death in Haines, Alaska, have been distributed widely, from NPR to the Anchorage Daily News, from the Christian Science Monitor to Country Living. She is a former contributing editor at Woman’s Day magazine and has written some 500 obituaries for the Chilkat Valley News in Haines. The recipient of the Alaska Governor’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities, Lende’s bestselling books include If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name, Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs, and Find the Good, which was chosen as the 2020 Alaska Reads title. She and her husband, Chip, live in Haines, where they own a lumberyard and hardware store. They have five children and eight grandchildren. Her website is www.heatherlende.com.

GET THE BOOK

Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics is available to purchase at Books on the Square: https://www.booksq.com/book/9781616208516. The eBook and eAudiobook are also available to borrow for free with your PCL library card on the Hoopla app, which may be downloaded from your app store. Learn more about Hoopla: https://www.provcomlib.org/hoopla.

GET TICKETS

Please register for this free event through Eventbrite. You will receive your Zoom access link via email before the event as well as a reminder email with the Zoom link on the day of the event. Ticket sales end one hour before the event begins.

QUESTIONS?

Contact the organizers of PCL Reads: arosa@provcomlib.org or lsmith@provcomlib.org