Ditmas Reads Ditmas: Rachel Sherman
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
Our next Ditmas Reads Ditmas author, Rachel Sherman, lives with her husband and daughter in their Brooklyn apartment but writes about where she grew up: the Long Island suburbs.
Sherman has lived in Ditmas Park for almost four years. She picked Brooklyn as the place to raise her daughter because of its diversity. The suburbs had “a façade of culture and depth,” Sherman says. “People had money, but they never did anything interesting.”
The paradox between the façade and the real is what Sherman explores in her writing, rivetingly so.
Her most recent book, Living Room, explores the dark secrets hidden inside picture-perfect homes–specifically the living room–of a teenage girl, her mother, and grandmother. Each of the women is self-absorbed in her own secret. But when the secrets become overwhelming and their world implodes…well, that is what we will discuss at the end of this installment. Read the book and join our discussion.
Sherman teaches writing at Columbia, Rutgers, and right here in Ditmas Park. Sherman’s local writing class is held at the Ditmas Workspace for beginning and advanced writers. The class begins on Monday, January 23.
“Everyone has a story to tell,” Sherman says, “they just need to make the space and time to write it.”
There are still a couple seats left in Sherman’s class if you want to sign up for the 10-week session. Email her at rachel@rachelsherman.net for more information.
How is Sherman setting aside time and space to write? Living Room’s publication coincided with the birth of Sherman’s daughter. Navigating parenthood, teaching, and writing has been a challenge, and therefore Sherman is still working on her third novel. Still, she has published a variety of short stories and parenting articles. As every parent knows, it’s a juggling act, but a worthwhile one.
You can buy Living Room at Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or at Sycamore on Monday, January 16, from 5-7pm, where Rachel Sherman will join us for an author happy hour, and she will have copies available for sale.
Ditmas Reads Ditmas is a reading series featuring local authors. At the beginning of the installment, we introduce the author and the book. Then we offer local readers a chance to meet the author, get their book signed, and ask questions. At the end of the installment we host a book-club style discussion in the comments section of the blog. Our goal is to support our local authors and build our community through reading.
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carissa
