PASADENA, Calif. – Author Carla Rachel Sameth will discuss her book One Day on the Gold Line: A Memoir in Essays on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. in Pasadena Central Library’s Donald Wright Auditorium, 285 E. Walnut St. Past Altadena Poet Laureate, Thelma Reyna will join her in conversation followed by a writing exercise. Books will be available for sale and signing.
Through meditations on race, culture and family, Sameth’ s One Day on the Gold Line tells the story of a lesbian Jewish single mother raising a black son in Los Angeles. A memoir-in-essays, it examines life’s surprising changes that come through choice or circumstance, often seemingly out of nowhere, and sometimes darkly humorous—even as the situations are dire.
While escaping from a burning boat, Sameth realizes that if she died, her one regret would be not having children. She overcomes miscarriages to finally give birth to a son. Motherhood’s usual struggles are then complicated by identity, community, and the challenges of creating a blended family. The overarching theme of these loosely woven reflective tales is the storyteller’s dream of the “perfect” family, the pursuit of which hurls her from one crisis to the next, ultimately meeting its greatest challenge in the form of her teenage son’s struggle with drug addiction.
Sameth’s work has appeared in various anthologies and publications. Selected as a 2016 PEN In The Community Teaching Artist, she teaches creative writing at the LA Writing Project at California State University Los Angeles and at Southern New Hampshire University. Sameth received an MFA from Queens University in Charlotte, and is a member of the Pasadena Rose Poets. She lives in Los Angeles with her wife.
For more information on this event, contact Christine Reeder at (626) 744-7076 or creeder@cityofpasadena.net.
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
Christine Reeder, Adult Services Librarian
(626) 744-7076, creeder@cityofpasadena.net
Catherine Haskett Hany, Communications
(626) 744-4207, chany@cityofpasadena.net