Book Club: What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me

During this 2-hour insightful book discussion, the author, Donna Gordon, will read short excerpts from What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me and attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and converse as a group. This event is open to anyone - literary enthusiasts and new readers alike – and you can participate as much or as little as you would like. The event will conclude with a book signing.

An assortment of light bites and refreshments will be provided during the event.

Please note that attendees are strongly encouraged to read the book prior to the September 19th event. The book is available through Kindle and Amazon or can be borrowed at local libraries.

ABOUT THE BOOK

What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me explores the story of Lee, a vibrant thirteen-year-old boy who is facing premature death from Progeria (a premature aging disease); his caretaker Tomás, a survivor of Argentina’s Dirty War, who is searching for his missing wife, who was pregnant when they were both "disappeared;" and Lee's single mother, Cass, overwhelmed by love for her son and the demands of her work as a Broadway makeup artist. When a mix-up prevents Cass from taking Lee on his "final wish" trip to Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia to pursue his interest in the life of Ben Franklin, Tomás--who has discovered potential leads to his family in both cities--offers to accompany Lee on the trip. As one flees memories of death and the other hurtles inevitably toward it, they each share unsettling truths and find themselves transformed in the process. Set during the Ronald Reagan presidency, this lyrical novel transcends an adventure story to take the reader on an unforgettable journey that explores love, family, and the inevitability of change. to learn more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Donna Gordon is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based writer and artist. She graduated from Brown, was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford, a PEN Discovery, and a Ploughshares Discovery.

Her debut novel, What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me, Regal House 2022, received a starred review from and was named among the , having been described as, “A soulful journey that offers surprises and unforeseen victories.”

The novel also received the 2022 Whirling Prose Prize from Etchings Press and was the November pick for the Brown Book Club of Boston. It was named by the Independent Book Review as one of the top 45 they’re excited about for 2022. Nina McLaughlin wrote in a Boston Globe review: “Gordon’s prose is lively; it rushes along with verve, humor, and heart…[She has] achieved the rare thing, a stirring, poignant story of death and love and a page-turning adventure.”

She received the 2018 New Letters Publication Award for her short story, “Primates,” and has published fiction, poetry, and essays nationally.

to learn more about Donna.

CONTACT

Questions? Comments? to connect with Donna.

Host or Publisher Waverley Oaks Park