Julia Alvarez

Julia Alvarez has been called “a one-woman cultural collision” by the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and that has never been truer than in this story about three of her most personal relationships—with her parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti. A teenager when Julia and her husband, Bill, first met him in 2001, Piti crossed the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Julia, impressed by his courage, charmed by his smile, has over the years come to think of him as a son, even promising to be at his wedding someday. When Piti calls in 2009, Julia’s promise is tested.

Bestselling novelist Alvarez reflects on the joys and burdens of love in A wedding in Haiti, a memoir that travels across borders. Her journey to Haiti for a friend's wedding, and a year later in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, opens Alvarez's eyes to the resilience of the human spirit.

Location: Street: 4869 Main St Additional: City: Manchester Center, Province: Vermont Postal Code: 05255 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

PLEASE NOTE: This event will take place in the gallery of the Hardwick Inn, just up the street at 4 South Main Street.

The Galaxy welcomes author Julia Alvarez for a reading from her newest book, A wedding in Haiti. A memoir, A wedding in Haiti chronicles her journey to Haiti, first for the wedding of a friend, and then again after the devastating earthquake that shook Haiti in 2010. Ms. Alvarez will include photos and audio from her trip in her presentation.

Alvarez is the author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies and a 2011 recipient of the Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. Currently a writer-in-residence at Middlebury College, she also spends time on the sustainable farm-literacy center, Alta Gracia, that she founded with her husband in the Dominican Republic.

Location: Street: Hardwick Inn Additional: 4 S. Main Street City: Hardwick, Province: Vermont Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Julia Alvarez has been called "a one-woman cultural collision" by the "Los Angeles Times Book Review," and that has never been truer than in this story about three of her most personal relationships--with her parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti.

A teenager when Julia and her husband, Bill, first met him in 2001, Piti crossed the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Julia, impressed by his courage, charmed by his smile, has over the years come to think of him as a son, even promising to be at his wedding someday. When Piti calls in 2009, Julia's promise is tested. To Alvarez, much admired for her ability to lead readers deep inside her native Dominican culture, "Haiti is like a sister I've never gotten to know." And so we follow her across the border into what was once the richest of all the French colonies and now teeters on the edge of the abyss--first for the celebration of a wedding and a year later to find Piti's loved ones in the devastation of the earthquake.

In A wedding in Haiti (Algonquin, $22.95), as in all of Alvarez's books, a strong message is packed inside an intimate, beguiling story, this time about the nature of poverty and of wealth, of human love and of human frailty, of history and of the way we live now.

Location: Street: 265 Aragon Ave City: Coral Gables, Province: Florida Postal Code: 33134-5008 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Join us for a luncheon with Julia Alvarez at the Union League Cafe!

The honesty of this book is refreshing. Ms. Alvarez takes us on her journey of friendship and family and gives a rare look inside her life. Funny, candid, and beautifully written. A reminder for anyone of what it means to be human and compassionate.

Julia Alvarez has been called “a one-woman cultural collision” by the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and that has never been truer than in this story about three of her most personal relationships—with her parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti. A teenager when Julia and her husband, Bill, first met him in 2001, Piti crossed the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Julia, impressed by his courage, charmed by his smile, has over the years come to think of him as a son, even promising to be at his wedding someday. When Piti calls in 2009, Julia’s promise is tested.

To Alvarez, much admired for her ability to lead readers deep inside her native Dominican culture, “Haiti is like a sister I’ve never gotten to know.” And so we follow her across the border into what was once the richest of all the French colonies and now teeters on the edge of the abyss—first for the celebration of a wedding and a year later to find Piti’s loved ones in the devastation of the earthquake. As in all of Alvarez’s books, a strong message is packed inside an intimate, beguiling story, this time about the nature of poverty and of wealth, of human love and of human frailty, of history and of the way we live now.

Location: Street: Union League Café Additional: 1032 Chapel Street City: New Haven, Province: Connecticut Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

A wedding in Haiti Julia Alvarez Julia Alvarez writes lyrical, politically insightful works that reveal her passion for people who shape history. Born in New York and raised until the age of 10 in the Dominican Republic, she artfully renders “the threshold experiences of the new immigrant, where the past is not yet a memory and the future remains an anxious dream” (New York Times Book Review). Alvarez is the author of the bestselling novels How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, In the Time of the Butterflies, and Saving the World, as well as several poetry collections and children’s books. A wedding in Haiti examines three of Alvarez’s most personal relationships, pivoting on her real-life promise to attend the wedding of a courageous Haitian teenager. Parkway Central Library 1901 Vine Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 (between 19th and 20th Streets on the Parkway) This is a TICKETED event; $15 General Admission, $7 Students. For more information, please call 215-567-4341, or click here

Location: Street: Free Library of Philadelphia Additional: 1901 Vine Street City: Philadelphia, Province: Pennsylvania Postal Code: 19103-5207 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

When Julia and her husband Bill first met Piti in 2001, he was a teenaged Haitian boy who had illegally crossed the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Julia, impressed by his courage, came to think of him as a son and promised to be at his wedding someday. In 2009, we follow her across the border into what was once the richest of all the French colonies, first for the celebration of a wedding and, another year later, to find Piti's loved ones in the devastation of the earthquake. As in all of Alvarez's books, a strong message is packed inside an intimate, beguiling story, this time about the nature of poverty and of wealth, of human love and of human frailty, of history and of the way we live now.

American fiction write and professor of English Helena Maria Viramontes will be joining Julia in a conversation about Julia’s latest book.

The discussion is free and open to the public. It takes place at All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101 in the Forum (downstairs in the building facing Euclid). Please keep our general signing guidelines in mind for this event: Those wishing to get books signed will be asked to purchase at least one copy of A wedding in Haiti from Vroman's for every 3 books they bring from home. Save your Vroman's receipt, as that will serve as your ticket for the signing line.

Location: Street: 132 N. Euclid City: Pasadena, Province: California Postal Code: 91101 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)