Sophia Kouidou-Giles, Jacquelyn Truxill, Terry Repak. Photo courtesy of Village Books, Bellingham, WA.
Join authors Sophia Kouidou-Giles, Terry Repak, and Jacquelyn Tuxill at Village Books in Fairhaven as they discuss the impact of place on memoir. Register for this event.
About the Authors
Sophia Kouidou-Giles is an immigrant from Greece and published Sophia's Return: Uncovering My Mother's Past in September 2021, a memoir that unfolds in her natal home, Greece. Her forthcoming novel, An Unexpected Ally, (pub date October 3, 2023) is also set in Greece.
Seven-year-old Sophia watches her mother leave their Greek family home without a goodbye or explanation. She is raised by her grandmother and stepmother. Her mother's departure becomes the child's worry stone. Decades later, when she returns to Greece from America, she uncovers a family story she had never been told.
Terry Repak, author of the memoir Circling Home: What I Learned by Living Elsewhere, (pub date September 12, 2023) describes how the settings in several African countries and in Europe were critical in reshaping her character and worldview.
When Terry and her husband moved to West Africa with two small children at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1990s, she seized the opportunity to connect with people of other cultures and bear witness to the ravages of the disease. Circling Home chronicles the adventures and challenges of raising children to be global citizens and trying to find home in countries as diverse as the Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Switzerland. Her memoir spotlights the complexity, struggles, and profound lessons at the heart of the expat journey. Read more.
Jacquelyn Tuxill's memoir, Whispers from the Valley of the Yak, (pub date September 12, 2023) details her multiple trips to China — where she'd been born to a medical missionary—and how they transformed her sense of self and her relationship with her parents.
When Jackie accompanies her aging American parents to China, her birthplace, an unexpected revelation about her mother sets Jackie on a quest of self-discovery. She finds a passion for nature and the environment in Alaska. Later, retracing her parents' 1932 trek into Tibet, she understands she's come full circle to the authentic life she craves.
For more bio information on Jackie and Sophia, visit Village Books; read Terry’s full bio.
Thanks to Village Books for a portion of this content and the authors’ photos.
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