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X-WR-CALNAME:Rachel Beanland: "The Half Life" 
X-WR-TIMEZONE:Eastern Time (US & Canada)
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20261007T222555Z
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53541258790498
DTSTART:20261118T000000Z
DTEND:20261118T010000Z
DESCRIPTION:When twenty-three-year-old Eileen O’Malley meets charismatic 
 naval officer Paul Archer in a Charleston department store\, she doesn’t
  expect to fall so hard\, so fast. But Paul is funny and ambitious\, and s
 oon\, Eileen’s got a ring on her finger and is following him to the tiny
 \, sun-drenched Mediterranean island of La Maddalena\, where Paul will be 
 heading up Radiological Controls aboard a submarine tender.\n\n \n\nIn La 
 Maddalena\, Eileen joins a makeshift community of navy wives who are hell-
 bent on making the island feel a little more like home. But for Eileen\, w
 hose brother died in Vietnam\, home is a loaded word\, and as she settles 
 into life on the island—taking Italian lessons and learning to make culu
 rgiones—she begins to love the place for all the ways it is not like whe
 re she comes from.\n\n \n\nStill\, it doesn’t take long for Eileen to be
  confronted with the complexities of being an American abroad. The decisio
 n to send nuclear-powered subs into the La Maddalena Archipelago was a con
 tentious one\, and the U.S. government is doing whatever it can to ensure 
 that the island—not to mention all of Italy—doesn’t go communist in 
 the next election.\n\n \n\nWhen Italian activists and scientists begin to 
 sound the alarm about possible nuclear contamination in the water\, the is
 land erupts in a series of protests\, made worse by the ongoing mishaps of
  the U.S. Navy. Soon\, Eileen’s marriage falters and her loyalties begin
  to shift as she is drawn into a web of secrets—and to a local journalis
 t who forces her to imagine a life beyond the one she’s been handed.\n\n
  \n\nAtmospheric\, sexy\, and quietly defiant\, The Half Life is a story o
 f love\, complicity\, and awakening—of one woman forced to choose betwee
 n loyalty to her husband and country and to the Italian locals who show he
 r the high cost of American exceptionalism.\n\n \n\nAbout the Author: \n\n
 Rachel Beanland is the author of The House Is on Fire and Florence Adler S
 wims Forever\, which won the National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction.
  She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and earned her MFA 
 in creative writing from Virginia Commonwealth University. She lives with 
 her family in Richmond\, Virginia.\n\n \n\nAbout the Program: \n\nTo atten
 d in person please register here. Doors will open to registered attendees 
 at 6 pm. A local bookseller will be on-site and have books available for p
 urchase.Free parking vouchers are available to program attendees who park 
 at the Franklin Street Garage (15 W. Franklin Street) after 4pm.  Ask Prat
 t event staff for your parking voucher prior to or after the program. This
  free event will be presented in-person and virtually.   This is a seated 
 event with spaces reserved for individuals with accessibility needs. ASL i
 nterpretation will also be available for attendees throughout the event. I
 f you need additional accommodations to successfully participate\, please 
 let us know at events@prattlibrary.org or 443-768-0762.
GEO:39.294601;-76.617302
LOCATION:Central Library\, Poe Reading Room 
SUMMARY:Rachel Beanland: "The Half Life" 
URL;VALUE=URI:https://calendar.prattlibrary.org/event/rachel-beanland-the-h
 alf-life
CATEGORIES:Writers LIVE!
CATEGORIES:Virtual Event
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