Author Maryanne O'Hara will discuss her recent book, Little Matches: A Memoir of Finding Light in the Dark, in this Zoom webinar with the SPL and Tewksbury Public Library.
About The Book:
Maryanne O’Hara recounts how she lost her beloved only child and set out to look for answers to life’s hard questions. Where is she? Is she? Is there more to life than this life? Does my existence have any real purpose? Does anyone’s? Can the synchronicities that we humans experience help us find meaning and purpose in our lives? Using images and reflections that speak to universal themes, Maryanne shares her remarkable story of resilience, of finding light inside life’s darkest hours, and offers suggestions for discovering one’s purpose.
About The Author:
Maryanne O’Hara is the author, most recently, of Little Matches: A Memoir of Finding Light in the Dark. Little Matches is inspired by a blog that Maryanne O’Hara kept while her daughter Caitlin was waiting for a lung transplant. Maryanne and Caitlin’s story has been featured in The New York Times, TIME Magazine, The Boston Globe, Psychology Today, and "Little Matches" is a People Magazine Book of the Week. She is also the author of "Cascade," a novel, which was the Boston Globe Book Club’s inaugural pick, a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award, and a People Magazine Book of the Week. Maryanne holds an MFA in creative writing, has taught creative writing at the college level, and was a longtime editor at the literary journal, Ploughshares. After volunteering as an end-of-life volunteer at care facilities in Boston and Pittsburgh, she trained as a certified end-of-life doula at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine in 2019. Maryanne lectures on topics including chronic illness, bereavement, and secular spirituality. She is the developer of a successful legacy writing workshop that facilitates personal and communal reflective creative practices across identity, age, and health status.
Questions? Contact Kerry: keodonnell@somervillema.gov
Sponsored by the Friends of the Somerville Public Library in partnership with Tewksbury Public Library.
