Molly McCloy: Nine Grudges

Four-time Moth Slam winner and Lambda Literary fellow, Molly McCloy, presents her memoir Nine Grudges—a raw, defiant, and darkly hilarious queer memoir that traces nine pivotal moments of childhood trauma, blending humor, heartbreak, and resilience to illuminate the power of forgiveness, identity, and queer joy amid family dysfunction. In conversation with Robrt Pela.

ABOUT THE LIVE EVENT

• RSVP via Eventbrite is required.
• Signing line will follow the presentation.

ABOUT THE BOOK
On the cusp of her 1993 college graduation in Olympia, Molly McCloy spends her time drunk and high, pulling dykey pranks, and thrashing in mosh pits--anything to avoid the troubled, working-class family she left behind in Arizona. But after a vivid nightmare involving her dad, Molly writes him a letter, asking him to apologize for nine instances of mental, verbal, and physical abuse. To her surprise, her dad writes back. Nine Grudges is the story of Molly's nine heartbreaking moments, her humor as a coping strategy, and her queerness as a source of joy. Celebrating dark victories snatched from the jaws of trauma, this book asks whether grudge-wielding is an act more powerful than forgiveness itself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Molly McCloy is a four-time Moth Slam winner and Lambda Literary fellow. Her ideas about using humor and agency to write about childhood trauma have been featured on Pipeline Artists and a radio interview for KJZZ’s “The Show.” Her memoir, “Nine Grudges: The Spiteful Origins of the Happiest Dyke on Earth,” won the Book Pipeline Prize as well as the Quill Prose Award from Red Hen Press and was recently excerpted for a Father's Day essay on The Huffington Post. She teaches the awesome students at Pima Community College and lives in Tucson with her wife Rebecca. Find out more at mollymccloy.com and mollymccloy.substack.com.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR:
Robrt Pela is a career journalist who’s written for magazines and newspapers both local and national. Pela spent 30 years as a columnist at Phoenix New Times; was an editor at Phoenix Home and Garden; and is writing now for Phoenix Magazine. He has been a staff writer at national magazines including The Advocate, Psychology Today, and Men’s Health, and for nearly three decades has been a correspondent at the National Public Radio affiliate KJZZ. His published books include Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters. He works as a full-time books editor based in Phoenix, Arizona.