3:30 p.m. \;| Book Sale Opens<
br />4:00 p.m. | Author Talk with Susan Zurenda<
br />4:40 p.m. \;| Audience Q&\;AA
4<
/strong>:50 p.m. | LSS CHOICES for Victims of Domestic Violence
5:00 p.m. | Book signing
ABOUT THE AU THOR
\nSusan Beckham Zurenda taught English for 33 ye ars on the college level and at the high school level to AP students. She is the author of the Southern literary novel\, Bells for Eli\, th at received several awards including first place for Best First Book&mdash \;Fiction in the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards. Her novel The Girl From the Red Rose Motel was the recipient of the 2024 Patricia Winn Award in Southern Fiction and first place winner for Southeast Fictio n in the 2024 Independent Book Publisher Book Awards\, among others. Zuren da has published and won awards for her short fiction\, including the Sout h Carolina Fiction Prize\, twice. Susan lives in Spartanburg\, SC.
\nLearn more at www.sus anzurenda.com.
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ABOUT THE BOOK
\nWhen author Shannon Irwin meets Grace Ferrall and agr
ees to interview the younger woman and tell the story of Grace&rsquo\;s fo
rced child marriage and harrowing youth\, these very different women begin
an unlikely relationship. Grace&rsquo\;s ordeal starts in Louisiana\, wit
h an alcoholic father and a mother whose mood swings are often intolerable
. When Grace is barely fifteen and living in Oklahoma\, her mother manipul
ates her into marrying Rafe\, a scurrilous\, older man. Pregnant at sixtee
n\, Grace is soon living in a truck near a river in Oregon with Rafe&rsquo
\;s cult-like family.
After years of abuse and multiple pregnanc
ies and miscarriages\, with the help of an unlikely ally\, Grace escapes.
But her newfound freedom is fragile\, and she is forced to make impossible
choices to protect herself and her two daughters. Trust builds between th
e women as Grace shares details she has never told anyone\, while Shannon\
, with a daughter Grace&rsquo\;s age\, and ridden with guilt about her for
mer marriage\, reveals the dysfunction in her own life and the remorse she
suffers.
A searing and compassionate exploration set in present
-day Pawleys Island\, South Carolina\, and 1990s rural Oklahoma\, No W
ay Out but Through is inspired by the real life of an ordinary woman
who survived extraordinary circumstances.
EVENT DET AILS
\nThe event is free to the public but due to limited s eating registration is requested.
\nAuthor's books will be sold on s ite by The Book Loft.
\nOctober is Domestic Violence Awarene ss month and this event is held in partnership with LSS CHOICES for Victim s of Domestic Violence.
\nLSS CHOICES for Victims of Domestic Violence provides safety\, shelte r and support services for survivors of domestic violence and their childr en. As Franklin County&rsquo\;s only domestic violence shelter\, LSS CHOIC ES offers safe emergency shelter\, counseling\, transitional and rapid reh ousing services\, community education and connections to resources that he lp survivors move toward safety and stability. Using a trauma-informed\, c lient-centered approach\, LSS CHOICES serves all survivors of domestic vio lence. LSS CHOICES is a program of Lutheran Social Services. Learn more at \;Home - LSS Choices.
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