Melissa Fay Greene

Free to the community. Atlantan Melissa Fay Greene is known for award-winning nonfiction (The Temple Bombing, Praying for Sheetrock) and eloquent journalism, but she is also a mother. With four children of her own, she and her husband, Don Sammuel, adopted five from foreign countries. In her whimsical, ... (more)hilarious account, she pokes fun at her own initial cluelessness regarding the adoption process, which the couple began after Greene suffered a miscarriage in her mid-40s. Greene, in this engaging book, captures the family’s triumphant shared delight in one another’s differences.

Dear readers, This is a first reminder that Melissa Fay Greene, author of There is No Me Without You and The Temple Bombing, will be live, in person, at Tall Tales Book Shop on Wednesday, June 15, at 7:15 pm. She will be reading from and signing her new book, No Biking in the House Without a Helmet, ... (more)a memoir about raising nine children with her husband. We have copies in the store should you want to read the book prior to the signing. Thank you. Keep reading, The Tall Tales staff

Award-winning author Melissa Fay Greene and her husband, Don Samuel, lived in Atlanta with their four children. By most standards, that is a lot of kids. When their oldest left for college, the two knew an empty nest was approaching. Don proposed backfilling: “Every time one leaves, let’s bring in ... (more)another!” In eight years, five children joined the family from orphanages in Bulgaria and Ethiopia. The mix of age groups, genders, races, cultures, and languages generated a life of bedlam, hilarity, tears, and love. No Biking in the House Without a Helmet joins the tradition of domestic comedies from James Thurber’s My Life and Hard Times to Erma Bombeck, Calvin Trillin, and David Sedaris, with elements of The Blind Side. It is world-class reporting from the ridiculous front lines of parenthood. Melissa Fay Greene is known for her exemplary journalism and eloquent nonfiction. She is the author of Praying for Sheetrock, The Temple Bombing, Last Man Out, and There Is No Me Without You. Two of her books were finalists for the National Book Award, and she is a contributor to the New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, Atlantic, Good Housekeeping, and other periodicals. This is the sixteenth annual Sidney Isenberg Lecture. The Sidney Isenberg Lectures have been established by his friends, colleagues, and family as an expression of love and appreciation for his values and commitment to the healing process and to the advancement of learning and growth, affirming his conviction that the human relationship is the agency through which change comes about.

We’re honored to host Atlanta’s prize-winning author Melissa Fay Greene with her wonderful new book, ”No Biking in the House without a Helmet,” a joyous account of a great, loving, complicated and ever-expanding family -- her own! The story behind the book is as simple one: when Melissa and her ... (more)husband Atlanta attorney Don Samuel found their four kids growing up and leaving the house, they decided to ”backfill”: meaning, ”whenever one leaves, we’ll get another.” Over eight years, five children have joined the family from orphanages in Bulgaria and Ethiopia. Melissa’s account of their laughter and tears will charm and delight you, and we know you won’t want to miss this special event. It’s free, of course, with no tickets or reservations; just show up! We’ll have copies of her book for you to buy and get signed. (Doors open at 6:00 p.m.)