This is a hybrid event with limited in-store seating and the option to attend online.
The event is free but registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance.
Please click here to register for the VIRTUAL event. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.
Please click here to register for the IN-PERSON event. Note the important event details on the RSVP form.
This event includes a book signing. If you would like a signed book but can't attend in person, you may order a signed copy online below. If you would like to have your book personalized, please order online or call the store at least two hours before the start of the event. When ordering online, use the comments field to provide a name for personalization, e.g. “To Paul.” NOTE: We do our best to get books personalized when requested but personalization is not guaranteed.
If you decide to attend and to purchase books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop's. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!
Craving Spring
“ [A memoir] that circles around the question of what it is to be a parent...incredibly moving.” —NICK FLYNN, author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City
Ann is convinced she is a good mother until the day her teenage daughter admits to an eating disorder and suicidal thoughts. In a desperate search to rescue her child, Ann gathers wisdom from therapy, the 12 Steps and Buddhist teachings, but is surprised to find her greatest solace from an unlikely source: the ancient Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone.
Throughout her journey, Ann is plagued by a shadowy figure called Malvado, who undermines her confidence. As she traces the origins of this critical voice, she unravels influences from childhood and past grief. With Demeter as her guide, Ann transitions to a new stage of motherhood. She learns the importance of protecting her daughter, the need for compromise, the challenge of letting go, and the secret to returning to herself. Craving Spring dives into the complex relationship between mothers and daughters to celebrate the universal desire for renewal.
Ann Batchelder writes about women’s wisdom and the pain and beauty of difficult transitions. She served as Editor of FIBERARTS Magazine, was guest curator for the Asheville Art Museum where she designed and developed three major contemporary art exhibitions featuring artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Ann Hamilton, Sally Mann, Maya Lin, and Laurie Anderson, and was Director of Special Events for the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Ann earned an MSW in psychotherapy and is the mother of two adult children. Find her at www.annbatchelder.com.
Lori Horvitz’ personal essays have appeared in Hobart, Epiphany, South Dakota Review, The Laurel Review, The New York Times, The Guardian, Bustle, and Hotel Amerika, among other literary journals. Professor of English at UNC Asheville, her most recent book, Collect Call to My Mother: Essays on Love, Grief, and Getting a Good Night’s Sleep, earned a starred Kirkus review, and her first collection of memoir-essays, The Girls of Usually, won the 2016 Gold Medal IPPY Book Award in Autobiography/Memoir.
