Society of the Arts

The third and final author to present and answer your questions at our 8th Annual Luncheon with the Authors, Dani Shapiro, has a tale to tell -- and it will blow you away! Join us for this live virtual event and hear the remarkable, real life story from the woman who lived it. Get your tickets and books now at https://sotapa.org/events/luncheon-with-the-authors/. Proceeds benefit the Allentown Art Museum. Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapir...o In the spring of 2016, through a genealogy website to which she had casually submitted her DNA for analysis, Dani Shapiro received the stunning news that her beloved deceased father was not her biological father. Over the course of a single day, her entire historythe life she had livedcrumbled beneath her. Inheritance is a book about secrets. It is the story of a woman’s urgent quest to unlock the story of her own identity, a story that had been scrupulously hidden from her for more than fifty years. It is a book about the extraordinary moment we live in, a moment in which science and technology have outpaced not only medical ethics but also the capacities of the human heart to contend with the consequences of what we discover. Dani Shapiro’s memoir unfolds at a breakneck pacepart mystery, part real-time investigation, part rumination on the ineffable combination of memory, history, biology, and experience that makes us who we are. Inheritance is a devastating and haunting interrogation of the meaning of kinship and identity, written with stunning intensity and precision.

Got a case of the Mondays? Start your week off on a high note with "Dear Edward," an uplifting read from acclaimed writer Ann Napolitano. Then learn the inspiration from the author herself at the virtual Luncheon with the Authors on October 8th to benefit the Allentown Art Museum. Tickets and books can be purchased at www.sotapa.org/events/luncheon-with-the-authors/. "Dear Edward" is inspired by the true story of one child’s incredible survivalriveting, uplifting, unforgetta...ble. After losing everything, a young boy discovers there are still reasons for hope in this luminous, life-affirming novel, perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and Ann Patchett. One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them is a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured vet returning from Afghanistan, a septuagenarian business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. And then, tragically, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor. Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place for himself in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a piece of him has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discoveryone that will lead him to the answers of some of life’s most profound questions: When you’ve lost everything, how do find yourself? How do you discover your purpose? What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live? Dear Edward is at once a transcendent coming-of-age story, a multidimensional portrait of an unforgettable cast of characters, and a breathtaking illustration of all the ways a broken heart learns to love again. Allentown Art Museum

Reminder: Summer is not over yet! And there is still plenty of sunshine left to grab a great summer read! Check out A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler... and meet the author herself on October 8 at the 8th Annual Luncheon with the Authors (Zoom Webinar). Proceeds from book sales and event tickets benefit the Allentown Art Museum and can be purchased at https://sotapa.org/events/luncheon-with-the-authors/ A Good Neighborhood In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son. Xavier is headed to college in the fall, and after years of single parenting, Valerie is facing the prospect of an empty nest. All is well until the Whitmans move in next dooran apparently traditional family with new money, ambition, and a secretly troubled teenaged daughter. Thanks to his thriving local business, Brad Whitman is something of a celebrity around town, and he’s made a small fortune on his customer service and charm, while his wife, Julia, escaped her trailer park upbringing for the security of marriage and homemaking. Their new house is more than she ever imagined for herself, and who wouldn’t want to live in Oak Knoll? With little in common except a property line, these two very different families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie’s yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers. Told from multiple points of view, A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America todayWhat does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don’t see eye to eye?as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending star-crossed love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful. Allentown Art Museum

We are excited to announce that three renowned writers are taking part in SOTA’s 8th Annual Luncheon with the Authors on October 8th at 12:30pm! In light of the pandemic, this much beloved event will take place via Zoom Webinar. Guests may take part in a lively disussion and Q&A with this year’s phenomenal authors all from the comfort of their own homes! Proceeds from the event and book sales will benefit the Allentown Art Museum and can be found at www.sotapa.org. Books can ...also be purchased by contacting Barbara at [email protected]. Local delivery is available. Without further ado, the 2020 authors and books are: Therese Ann Fowler, author of A Good Neighborhood Ann Napolitano, author of Dear Edward Dani Shapiro, author of Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love Pick up your books and tickets now!!! Allentown Art Museum

The Allentown Art Museum has Reopened! Please visit allentownartmuseum.org for details.