Monday, January 7, 2019

Events 2019!: Anro Michaelis and Pardeep Singh Kaleka with Kathleen Dunn at Boswell, Rabbi Jamie Korngold at JCC, David and Nic Sheff at Sharon Lynne Wilson Center, and heads up for Nick Petrie's return, in conversation with Bonnie North

Hope you had a great winter break and are raring to hear some great authors! Our schedule ramps up tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 8, 7 pm, at Boswell:
Arno Michaelis and Pardeep Singh Kaleka, authors of The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and a Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate, in conversation with Kathleen Dunn

Arno Michaelis and Pardeep Singh Kaleka, cofounders of Serve 2 Unite, open up about their powerful friendship, between a Sikh and a former skinhead, that’s resulted in a mission to fight against hate and discrimination in this conversation, titled Forgiveness is Vengeance, and moderated by former WPR host Kathleen Dunn. On Facebook? Let us know you're coming by checking in here. It's not required but it will help us set up the space.

When white supremacist Wade Michael Page murdered six people and wounded four in a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin in 2012, Pardeep Kaleka was devastated. The temple leader, now dead, was his father. Meanwhile, Arno Michaelis, founder of one of the largest racist skinhead organizations in the world, had spent years of his life committing terrible acts in the name of white power. When he heard about the attack, waves of guilt washed over him, and he knew he had to take action and fight against the very crimes he used to commit.

The cofounders of the anti-hate group Serve 2 Unite, which is dedicated to establishing a healthy sense of identity, purpose, and belonging that diverts young people from violent extremist ideologies, gun violence, school shootings, bullying, and substance abuse, along with other forms of self-harm, Michaelis and Kaleka detail their journey to a partnership to battle hatred and violence.

Arno Michaelis is author of My Life After Hate and has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and on BBC. Pardeep Singh Kaleka has appeared on NBC, CNN, and NPR. Together they cofounded the anti-hate organization Serve 2 Unite.

Tuesday, January 8, 5:30 pm, at Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, 6255 N Santa Monica Blvd:
Jamie Korngold, author of Sadie’s Snowy Tu B’Shevat

Rabbi Jamie S. Korngold, founder and spiritual leader of the Adventure Rabbi Program, presents the seventh book in her popular Sadie and Ori Jewish holiday series. Free registration is required for this event, by emailing mcohen@jccmilwaukee.org.

Sadie wants to plant a tree for Tu B'Shevat (a Jewish holiday that begins Sunday, January 20). But it's the middle of winter! She gets a shovel, finds the perfect spot in the yard, and digs a big hole through a mountain of snow. Asking her mom to help her plant a young sapling, Sadie learns that she can’t plant a tree in the winter.

With help from brother Ori and Grandma, Sadie learns why the tree-planting holiday is celebrated in winter and finds her own special ways to celebrate it. This wonderful book provides the Jewish background for the holiday and a fun activity for kids and adults to do together.

Rabbi Jamie S. Korngold received ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and is the founder and spiritual leader of the Adventure Rabbi Program. Korngold is author of seven books in the Sadie and Ori series of picture books, as well as God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors with the Adventure Rabbi.


Friday, January 11, 6:30 pm, at Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, 19805 W Capitol Dr, Brookfield:
David and Nic Sheff, authors of High: Everything You Want to Know about Drugs, Alcohol, and Addiction, in conversation with Ashleigh Nowakowski, Executive Director of Your Choice

Elmbrook Schools present a visit from David and Nic Sheff, whose dual memoirs were the source material for the acclaimed film Beautiful Boy, starring Steve Carrell and Timothée Chalamet, which won the Founder's Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. David, author of Beautiful Boy, and Nic, author of Tweak, have written the ultimate resource for learning about the realities of drugs and alcohol for middle grade readers. Registration is required for this free event - we're getting close to cutoff. I cannot guarantee walk-up availability. Register at sheffelmbrook.bpt.me.

Cosponsored by Your Choice, offering alcohol and drug prevention education, intervention, and support, and REDgen, promoting balance and resiliency in the lives of children and teens. Cosponsor Boswell Book Company will be selling copies of High and other books written by the Sheffs. While kids are welcome at this event, the talk will be targeted to parents, educators, and mental health professionals. A talk from the Sheffs will be followed by a book signing.

In their first collaborative effort, father and son draw upon their personal experience and in-depth research to create the ultimate resource for teens and tweens to learn about the realities of drug and alcohol use and addiction. High tells it as it is, with testimonials from peers who have been there and families who have lived through the addiction of a loved one, along with the cold, hard facts about what drugs and alcohol do to bodies. From navigating peer pressure to stress outlets to the potential consequences of experimenting, Nic and David Sheff lay out the facts so that middle grade readers can educate themselves.

David Sheff is author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book Beautiful Boy, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Playboy. Time named him to their list of the World's Most Influential People. Nic Sheff is the author of Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines, We All Fall Down: Living with Addiction, and the young adult novel Schizo.

More at the Journal Sentinel about this event.

Monday, January 14, 7 pm, at Boswell:
Nick Petrie, author of Tear It Down, in conversation with Bonnie North of WUWM's Lake Effect

Petrie, Milwaukee’s hometown hero, returns to Boswell for a special launch celebration of the latest edge-of-your-seat entry into the award-winning Peter Ash series. His previous novel, Light It Up, just was named Apple Books Thriller of the Year. This event cosponsored by Crimespree Magazine.

Here's a Tear It Down recommendation from Boswell's Chris Lee: "This lightning-paced series continues as Peter Ash gets tangled up in the City of Blues with two new friends and two new sets of problems. This far into the series, you know you’re in good hands with Nick Petrie, and this installment is no different, with a high-wire-act plot he struts through with flair, twisting the strings of two different stories up into one big knot that rolls all around Memphis. Particular to Tear It Down is the strong sense of place and the people who come from it that Petrie translates onto the page. Peter isn’t the only one struggling with the scars of his past - all the characters in this book are, in their own ways, dealing with the good and evil they’ve inherited, from their family, from their circumstances, and from the land, and Petrie captures a particularly Southern sense of history and the way the past keeps a tight grip on present lives. His writing about the blues sings, too, sweet and gritty like a worn out, gut bucket beater guitar played on the cracked sidewalk of a crossroad where even the devil forgot to stop by."

Whitefish Bay-based Nick Petrie is author of three novels in the Peter Ash series. His debut, The Drifter, won the ITW Thriller award and the Barry Award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the Edgar and the Hammett awards. His other novels include Burning Bright and Light It Up. Bonnie North is a cohost and producer of WUWM’s Lake Effect. She has more than twenty years of experience as director, technician, and stage manager in professional and community theaters. Prior to joining WUWM, she managed a group of linguists that provided translation services for US and NATO stabilization forces and the overall linguist program for Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Romania.

Special offer! Pre-order Tear It Down before January 14 and get 20% off.

More upcoming events at boswellbooks.com/upcoming-events

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