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Elizabeth Gilbert, who has mined personal experience and deep observation for three bestselling memoirs, will discuss her latest work, All the Way to the River: Love, Loss and Liberation, in a Sept. 17 talk at Vanderbilt University.
Gilbert will be in conversation with bestselling author Ann Patchett beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Langford Auditorium. The discussion is hosted by the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries in collaboration with Parnassus Books. The doors to Langford Auditorium will open at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets for the event are $38.50 each and include one general admission seat and a pre-signed copy of All the Way to the River, to be released by Riverhead Books on Sept. 9.
All the Way to the River, Gilbert’s first nonfiction book in a decade, recounts the author’s relationship with Rayya Elias, her close friend turned romantic partner; Elias’ devastating cancer diagnosis and recurrence of addiction; and Gilbert’s care for her in the final months of her life. The work is described as “a landmark memoir that will resonate with anyone who has ever been captive to love—or to any other passion, substance or craving—and who yearns, at long last, for liberation.”
Gilbert’s previous memoirs include Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia; Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage; and Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. Her novels include The Signature of All Things and City of Girls. She has been a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the PEN/Hemingway Award.
Patchett is the author of novels—most recently the No. 1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake—works of nonfiction, and children’s books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Humanities Medal and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Patchett is also the owner of Parnassus Books and a spokesperson for independent booksellers.
Parking for the Sept. 17 event will be available in the 25th Avenue Garage at 2401 Highland Ave. Please access the garage using the Highland Avenue entrance.
