Author event
Maine author Susan Conley (Elsey Come Home) visits Gibson’s virtually on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. to present her new novel, Landslide, a touching family novel about a family surviving one hit after another. Susan will be joined in conversation by fellow Maine author Kerri Arsenault (Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains).
After a fishing accident leaves her husband hospitalized across the border in Canada, Jill is left to look after her teenage boys –“the wolves” – alone. Nothing comes easy in their remote corner of Maine: money is tight; her son Sam is getting into more trouble by the day; her eldest, Charlie, is preoccupied with a new girlfriend; and Jill begins to suspect her marriage isn’t as stable as she once believed. As one disaster gives way to the next, she begins to think that it’s not enough to be a caring wife and mother anymore – not enough to show up when needed, to nudge her boys in the right direction, to believe everything will be okay. But how to protect this life she loves, this household, this family?
With remarkable poise and startling beauty, Landslide ushers us into a modern household where, for a family at odds, Instagram posts, sex-positivity talks, and old fishing tales mingle to become a kind of love language. It is a beautiful portrait of a family, as compelling as it is moving, and raises the question of how to remain devoted when the eye of the storm closes in.
Registration required at eventbrite.com/e/ 131625131311.
History of a home
The Kimball Jenkins School of Art will hold a live online event, “Architecture that Endures: 19th Century Building in New Hampshire,” led by historian Mark Hopkins on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 for the public and $10 for members.
This virtual talk explores elements of National Register-listed historic resources like the Kimball Jenkins House, the Concord Gasholder House, and other Concord landmarks.
One-hour program followed by an optional 30-minute question and answer period.
Hopkins is a preservation consultant from Weare who has overseen the restoration work at the Kimball Jenkins Estate.
For more information, visit kimballjenkins.com.
Addressing homelessness
Homelessness has become a problem for many communities in New Hampshire, and while it is a preventable issue, most of the strategies communities have used to address it haven’t worked well.
A discussion on “Understanding Homelessness in New Hampshire: Humanities to Go Online” will be held on Friday, Feb. 5, at 5 p.m.
In this virtual presentation, Dr. Yvonne Vissing will explore the history of homelessness and commonly used approaches to understand and alleviate it. Participants will be encouraged to share perspectives, questions and ideas.
This program is offered through N.H. Humanities to Go Online series and is free and open to the public. Register now at bit.ly/HTG homelessness.
Dr. Yvonne Vissing is a professor of healthcare studies at Salem State University where she is the founding director of its Center for Childhood & Youth Studies.
