6 Author Talks about Success, Free Will vs Destiny, Hope, History & More

Posted on July 24, 2024 at 5:15 am

The lineup for the SCLD Online Authors Series in August and September brings you a bestselling group of authors and multifaceted topics:

• Take a virtual tour of the International Space Station with Dr. Jennifer Levasseur
• Explore healthy ways to approach college admissions with Irena Smith
• Discover Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel in which a grieving woman becomes friends with a tenacious octopus
• View the compelling talk with author Garrett Graff, who captures human drama and history like no other
• Learn how to get back to open-minded living with bestselling author Nate Klemp
• Mega-bestselling author Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies) discusses her latest novel—a tale that looks at free will vs destiny, grief and love, uncertainty vs control

If you are unable to attend any of the live talks, you can view past recordings at a time that works for you.

Smithsonian Curator Dr. Jennifer Levasseur

Revealing a new perspective into the world of space exploration and the daring astronauts who make it possible, Dr. Jennifer Levasseur guides us through the Smithsonian’s book Behind the Scenes at the Space Station: Experience Life in Space and take us on a once-in-a-lifetime virtual tour of the International Space Station.

Learn what the astronauts do once they make it to the space station, including experiments, repairs, and so much more! Have you ever wondered if plants could grow in outer space? Or how the space station doesn’t break down in outer space?

Behind the Scenes at the Space Station is a treasure trove of information. Brimming with astonishing visuals, step-by-step explanations of everyday space work in action, and job profiles of the adventurous people who make it happen, Dr. Levasseur’s tour is the perfect way to spend an hour and experience life in space.

About the author: Dr. Jennifer Levasseur’s first book Through Astronaut Eyes: Photographing Early Human Spaceflight, published in 2020, examined the cultural significance of astronaut photography. In her 22 years at the National Air and Space Museum, Jennifer has worked on artifact loans, a biennial museums conference, and numerous digital projects. She curated the 2015 exhibit Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity, co-curated One World Connected, and is lead curator for the forthcoming At Home in Space gallery.

ONLINE
Wednesday, Aug 7, 11am | REGISTER

Author & College Counselor Irena Smith

Hear from author Irena Smith, PhD, about constructive and healthy ways to approach the college application process, preserve your relationship with your teen, and help them define success on their terms instead of chasing the elusive “golden ticket.”

Irena is a former Stanford admissions officer who spent 18 years advising accomplished, tightly wound students in Palo Alto and around the world. She saw firsthand the extreme measures parents took to help their children gain admission to highly selective colleges and the toll it took on the children as well as on their parents.

Irena’s memoir, The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays, candidly explores her personal as well as professional life. Since its publication in 2023, she has devoted her time to speaking out about hard things: the heavy burden of generational expectations, teen and young adult mental health, and the importance of embracing a broader, more generous vision of what it means to succeed.

About the author: Irena Smith is an author, former Stanford admissions officer, independent college counselor, and mother of three extraordinary children. Irena taught literature and composition at UCLA and Stanford before transitioning to college admissions, college advising, and writing. Her recently published memoir The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays is the winner of the Story Circle Network’s Gilda Award, named in honor of comedian Gilda Radner to recognize honest, authentic writing that “makes us laugh even when we want to cry.”

ONLINE
Thursday, August 15, 11am | REGISTER

Bestselling Novelist Shelby Van Pelt

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel Remarkably Bright Creatures is a deep-dive exploration of friendship, reckoning, hope, and so much more.

Keeping busy has always helped Tova cope, which she’s been doing since her 18-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in the Puget Sound over 30 years ago. As she works the night shift mopping floors and tidying up at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, she becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium.

Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight tentacles for his human captors—until he forms an unlikely friendship with Tova. As his affection for Tova grows, Marcellus must use every trick his old, invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth about her son before it’s too late.

Charming, compulsively readable, and full of wit, Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a beautiful, luminous exploration—a reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

About the author: Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, was published in spring 2022 and was an instant New York Times bestseller, having sold over 1.5 million copies. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she’s now missing the mountains while living in the Chicago area with her husband and two children.

ONLINE
Wednesday, August 21, 4pm | REGISTER

Bestselling Author Garrett Graff

New York Times bestselling author Garrett Graff is an expert at capturing human drama, impressive details, and history like no other.

In The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, Graff draws on never-before-published transcripts, recently declassified documents, and original interviews and stories from nearly 500 government officials, first responders, witnesses, survivors, friends, and family members to paint the most comprehensive, minute-by-minute account of the September 11 attacks yet—all told in the words of those who experienced that dramatic and tragic day.

In Graff’s most recent work, When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day, he explores the full impact of a world changing event: D-Day, one of history’s greatest and most unbelievable military and human triumphs. Though the full campaign lasted just over a month, the surprise landing of over 150,000 Allied troops on the morning of June 6, 1944, is understood to be the moment that turned the tide for the Allied forces and ultimately led to the defeat of the Axis powers in World War II. This book dives deep into the complexities, including the secret creation of landing plans by top government and military officials and the organization of troops as well as the moment the boat doors opened to reveal the beach where men fought for their lives and the future of the free world.

About the author: Garrett M. Graff has spent nearly two decades covering politics, technology, and national security. Former editor of Politico and contributor to Wired and CNN, he’s written for Esquire, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and others. Today, he serves as the director of the cyber initiative at the Aspen Institute. Graff is the author of multiple books, including The Threat Matrix, Raven Rock, When the Sea Came Alive, and the New York Times bestsellers The Only Plane in the Sky and Watergate, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History.

ONLINE
Tuesday, Sep 10, 11am | REGISTER

Bestselling Author & Philosopher Nate Klemp

Explore pathways back to open-minded living when bestselling author and philosopher Nate Klemp talks to us about the core tenets in his new book Open: Living with an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World.

With the avalanche of daily information, closing down our minds and hearts can seem to be the only way to survive. We are closed off to ourselves by compulsively checking our devices. We are closed off to each other when caught in echo chambers of outrage. But what if there’s another way?

In this climate of distraction and division, Nate Klemp’s Open offers a path back to a way of living that is expansive, creative, and filled with wonder. Drawing on personal stories, scientific findings, and traditional wisdom, Klemp explores why we close down when faced with stressors or threats and reveals why training ourselves to fully engage—even with discomfort, pain, and sadness—leads to greater well-being in the long run.

About the author: Nate Klemp, PhD, is a philosopher, writer, and mindfulness entrepreneur. He is the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Start Here, the New York Times critics’ pick The 80/80 Marriage, and his newest book, Open: Living with an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World. His work has been featured in Los Angeles Times, Psychology Today, The Times of London, and more. He’s a cofounder of LifeXT and founding partner at Mindful.

ONLINE
Wednesday, Sep 18, 11am | REGISTER

Bestselling Author Liane Moriarty

We chat with mega-bestselling author Liane Moriarty about her newest novel Here One Moment, a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world.

In Here One Moment, aside from a delay, the flight will be smooth, it will land safely, and there will be no problems. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens—people learn how and when they are going to die. Some laugh the experience off as an eccentric tale.

“The Death Lady” wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable. A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story to share at a cocktail party.

Moriarty is a modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery. She asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.

About the author: Liane Moriarty is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Truly Madly Guilty, Big Little Lies, The Husband’s Secret, The Hypnotist’s Love Story, What Alice Forgot, Apples Never Fall, and Here One Moment. She lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two children.

ONLINE
Saturday, Sep 21, 4pm | REGISTER

Tags: adults, author talk, books, reading, SCLD Online Authors Series, teens, virtual