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Acclaimed author to appear at MJCCA book festival By CATHY COBBS newsroom@appenmedia.com DUNWOODY, Ga. — Fresh off the paperback release of her bestseller, “The Book of Longings,” Sue Monk Kidd will appear at a virtual event as part of the Marcus Jewish Community Center’s Book Festival on March 25. “It’s an honor to host KIDD an author of Ms. Kidd’s stature,” JCC Book Festival Director Pam Morton said. “Her thought-provoking books always resonate deeply with readers and she is a fan favorite with many book clubs.” Kidd’s latest work of fiction details the story of Ana, an ambitious woman living in first-century Galilee who meets 18-year-old Jesus. The two are drawn to each other’s spiritual and philosophical ideas and are married, despite their many differences. The novel took four years to complete, but Kidd said she spent about 14 months of that timeframe doing research. “I’ve always believed that if you want to write historical fiction, it needs to be relevant today,” she said. “The time I took doing research was very valuable in the process.” Kidd said she wrote the tale with the idea in mind that it would depict Jesus as fully human, rather than in a
spiritual manner, as “alternative imaginative history.” “I was prepared for this book to have some backlash because of that, but I really haven’t seen it,” she said. “I thought that it was important to think outside the box and see where it takes us.” Kidd said her other goal in writing “The Book of Longings” was to address “the lack of agency of women not just in the first century, but throughout history.” “We need to think about the world asking ourselves the question, ‘What if women wrote the stories?’” Kidd said. The author’s next project, a book she is writing with her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor, is “part howto, part pilgrimage, and part memoir,” tentatively titled “Writing, Creativity and Soul.” The pair previously co-authored “Traveling with Pomegranates: A MotherDaughter Story,” which details their travels to sacred sites in Turkey, Greece and France. Tickets to the virtual event, which begins at 8 p.m., can be purchased through the JCC’s website —
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showclix.com/event/sue-monk-kidd. Attendees have the option of purchasing a ticket for $11 or $25 for both the event and “The Book of Longings,” which will be mailed by the festival’s partner, A Cappella Books.
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Perimeter development narrowly passes council vote
By CATHY COBBS newsroom@appenmedia.com
DUNWOODY, Ga. — In a split vote, the Dunwoody City Council has given approval for zoning changes and special conditions that will allow plans for a major mixed-use development to move forward. The council voted 4-3 at its March 8 meeting to allow a property at 84 Perimeter Center East to be rezoned from C-1 Conditional (commercial) to PC-2 (Perimeter Center District). In addition, the council voted for several modifications to special land use permits that address more than 20 conditions, including the elimination of minimum setbacks and a reduction of the impervious coverage of the land. John DiGiovanni, registered agent for JSJ Perimeter LLC, said plans call for developing the property with 225 over-55 apartments, a parking garage and more than 40,000 square-feet of retail. The council decision included several compromises, including the relocation of a pool from the front of the building to the rooftop. Council Members John Heneghan, Jim Riticher and Pam Tallmadge, along with Mayor Lynn Deutsch, voted for the rezoning. Council members Joe
See VOTE, Page 3