Book Talk
AN AFTERNOON IN PARIS ... Ellen Sussman, who teaches writing through Stanford Continuing Studies and judges the Palo Alto Weekly’s annual short-story contest, will discuss her new novel “French Lessons” on Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. at Books Inc., 74 Town & Country Village, Palo Alto. In her second novel (she also wrote “On a Night Like This,” and edited “Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave” and Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex”), she depicts a single day in Paris when three Americans learn about language, love and loss. Sussman will also appear at the Downtown Library, Program Room, 270 Forest Ave., Palo Alto, on Saturday, Aug. 20, from 3 to 5 p.m. Sponsored by Friends of the Palo Alto Library, the event, which includes book sales by Books Inc., is part of the Palo Alto City Library’s Adult Summer Reading Program. Information: www.booksinc.net or www.cityofpaloalto.org/library or 650-329-2436
AUTHOR AUTHOR ... Upcoming authors at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, include Chris Haft, “This Is Our Time!” (Aug. 11, 7 p.m.); Jane Fonda, “Prime Time: Making the most of your life” (Aug. 18, 7 p.m.); Lev Grossman, “The Magician King” (Aug. 24, 7 p.m.); Kathleen Baty, “College Safety 101: Miss Independent’s Guide to Empowerment, Confidence, and Staying Safe” (Aug. 25, 7 p.m.); Annamarie Pluhar, “Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates” (Aug. 31, 7 p.m.); Ying-Ying Chang, “The Woman Who Could Not Forget: Iris Chang Before and Beyond the Rape of Nanking” (Sept. 8, 7 p.m.). Members may attend free; general admission requires purchase of the event book or a $10 gift card, which admits two. Information: www.keplers.com MORE TALKS ... Upcoming authors at Books Inc., 301 Castro St., Mountain View, include Jafar Yaghoobi, “Let Us Water the Flowers: the Memoir of a Political Prisoner in Iran” (Aug. 17, 7 p.m.). Information: www.booksinc.net N
Items for Book Talk may be sent to Associate Editor Carol Blitzer, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 93202 or e-mailed to cblitzer@ paweekly.com by the last Friday of the month.
A monthly section on local books and authors, edited
by Carol Blitzer
Veronica Weber
LOCAL AUTHOR ... Palo Alto residents Nick and Betsy Clinch have co-authored “Through a Land of Extremes: The Littledales of Central Asia,” which they will read from and sign on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 7 p.m. at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Nick is a graduate of Stanford and Stanford Law School who also served as executive director of the Sierra Club Foundation. He led several expeditions to Central Asia. Information: www.keplers. com
Title Pages
Palo Alto resident JoAn Chace tells the story of her adopted daughter Kate’s search for her birth family in the book they’ve co-authored.
Who am I?
by Carol Blitzer “Growing Up Is Hard to Do When They Won’t Tell You Who You Are,” by JoAn E. Chace and Katherine E. Chace; Patsons Press, 232 pp. h look, she’s got Grandma’s blue eyes.” “She’s as persnickety as Aunt Susie.” “It’s about time someone could run as fast as cousin Hal.” As an adopted daughter born in 1970, Katherine Chace never heard those comments. Hers was a classic, closed adoption where even her birth certificate denied her access to basic information, such as her birth parents’ names. Growing up in Palo Alto, Kate never knew why she didn’t quite fit, why she was short, sturdy and athletic, why school was a challenge. The question really wasn’t why, but rather who. She and her mother, JoAn Chace, have co-authored and
“O
An adopted daughter embarks on a challenging search for her birth mother
self-published a book that chronicles her journey — with a lot of help from her adopted mom — to discover who she is. JoAn wrote the majority of the book, with Kate’s voice interspersed. JoAn shares her personal story, beginning with how scarring from pelvic inflammatory disease rendered her unable to bear a child. She walks us through the labyrinth of adoption, recalling conversations with social workers, one of whom told her outright: “You and the doctors. The professors and the doctors. You all expect a healthy child. And you want a child that will be able to learn and
achieve.” She was even advised to give up working and change her babysitter (for her adopted son, who is two years older than Kate), if she expected to get a second child. Once they had adopted Kate, who spent her first 22 months in foster care because of legal issues, the Chaces took the social worker’s admonitions to heart. They soon moved to Palo Alto where Bill became a Stanford professor, dean and vice provost. JoAn lectured in freshman English at Stanford when the children were growing up. An avid athlete, Kate (continued on next page)
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