Author Talk: Ruthie Ackerman, The Mother Code

• Attendance to conversation between Ruthie Ackerman and Christie Tate
• Open Q&A
• Hardcover, signed copy of The Mother Code
• Drinks and light bites

In this propulsive memoir, an award-winning journalist blends history, science, and cultural criticism, to uncover whether motherhood outside of society’s rigid rules and expectations is possible—and whether she fits the mold for what a mother should be.

Ruthie began her writing career with a promise: to shine a light on the people, places, and ideas that are too often ignored. After a stint at the New York Times and a few years reporting on the economy for Forbes, she was awarded journalism fellowships to war-torn Liberia and Lebanon to showcase young people in both countries who were rebuilding their lives out of the ashes of destruction—and finding the resilience to push forward.

In the decade since, she has profiled game-changing entrepreneurs and social activists and written extensively about the professional and financial advancement of women. Ruthie wrote a piece for the New York Times Modern Love column about her own failed egg freezing, “Don’t Put All Your (Frozen) Eggs in One Basket,” which became the launching point for her upcoming memoir and shifted her focus from traditional reporting to personal stories.

She started Ignite Writers Collective in 2019 to work with other writers at all stages of their careers, sharing her insights from years as an editor and writer. Her clients have gotten book deals, published essays, and found the bravery to share their stories with the world.

Ruthie’s writing has been published in,,, ,,,,,,, and more. Most recently, she was the Deputy Editor at . She has a Master's in Journalism from NYU and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their daughter.

Christie is the author of the New York Times bestseller Group, which was a Reese’s Book Club selection and has been translated into 19 languages. She is also the author of B.F.F.-- A Memoir of Friendship Lost & Found. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and elsewhere. Her essays have been nominated for Puschcart Prizes, and Kiese Laymon selected her essay, Promised Lands, as the winner of the New Ohio Review’s 2019 nonfiction contest. She writes about addiction, eating disorders, friendship, alienation, recovery, and her Grandma’s farm in Forreston, Texas. She grew up in Dallas and now lives in Chicago with her family. She has finally stopped telling people that she graduated first in her law school class. Please don’t hate her because she has no pets.

Host or Publisher Sarah Gormley Gallery