Come hear Regan Burke interview me at Access Living tonight

In the Chicago area? No big plans tonight? Come to Access Living (115 W Chicago Avenue) at 6:30 pm for a book presentation. Regan Burke, one of the writers from my memoir-writing classes whose stories intertwine with mine in my latest book, Writing Out Loud, will be interviewing me on stage about teaching and writing memoir.

Access Living is a leading force in the disability advocacy community, and Regan, a lifelong civil rights activist, is a proud supporter of those efforts. She was Bill Clinton’s scheduler during his presidential campaign and left Chicago to work in his administration for a few years. Back home and retired now, she’s been taking memoir-writing classes nearly five years and is working with a publisher to compile her colorful — and moving — stories into a full-blown memoir.

Our goal tonight is to keep the conversation short, sweet, and lively — Regan and I are the warm-up band for renowned disability advocate and writer Riva Lehrer. Riva works at Access Living, is an adjunct professor in Medical Humanities at Northwestern University, and was born with spina bifida. Her work focuses on issues of physical identity and cultural depictions of disability, and she’ll be reading from her memoir, Golem Girl, which will be published by Penguin/Random House next year. The event is free, and the space is accessible. Come on down!