Polly Dugan w/ Laurie Frankel, THE HOUSE OF CAVANAUGH

Join Polly Dugan in store for a discussion of her latest multigenerational saga, The House of Cavanaugh, exploring the flaws of even the most seemingly stable and unblemished families, and how the ripple effects of a long-buried secret have the power to strengthen or destroy the closest ties between family and friends. She is joined in conversation by local writer and friend of the store Laurie Frankel.

New York City, 1964. Joan Cavanaugh—a young wife and mother yearning for more falls into a passionate affair with Peter “Hutch” Hutchinson. When the affair ends, she returns to her marriage, raising three daughters with her devoted husband, Graham. For nearly three decades, she keeps her secret locked away, taking the truth of her daughter Anne’s paternity to her grave when she succumbs to cancer in 1989.

Portland, 2014. Carolyn Cavanaugh and Julia Hutchinson are next door neighbors and the closest of friends. But when Carolyn’s father, Graham, visits for Thanksgiving, his path collides with Julia’s parents, Hutch and Alice. The revelation that unfolds following Graham’s trip upends both families, bringing a truth to light that will shake two families to their core.

As decades of deception unravel, bonds are tested, loyalties waver, and the meaning of family is forever redefined.

Polly Dugan is the author of the linked story collection, So Much a Part of You, and the novel, The Sweetheart Deal. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in The Dickinson Review, Narrative, Line Zero, ModernLoss.com and Huffpost.com. She is a contributing author to Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book by Courtney Maum. She is a graduate of Dickinson College and the Denver Publishing Institute, a former employee of Powell’s Books and Guide Dogs for the Blind, a Tin House Summer Workshop alumna and a former submissions reader for Tin House magazine. She lives in Portland and Manzanita, Oregon with her family.

Laurie Frankel is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of five — going on six — novels. Her new one, Enormous Wings, will be out in May. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and other publications. She is the recipient of the Washington State Book Award and the Endeavor Award. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty-five languages and been optioned for film and TV. A former college professor, she now writes full-time in Seattle, Washington where she lives with her family and makes good soup.

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