Meeting with Author Rachel Simon

That's Rachel in the center in the purple sweater, and I am on her left, holding the book.

It was an exciting night for my neighborhood book group last night!  We had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Rachel Simon as we discussed her latest novel, The Story of Beautiful Girl.  Rachel is also the author of the memoirs, Riding the Bus with My Sister and Building a Home with My Husband, as well as several earlier novels and short stories.

We had a wonderful time and talked for hours!  Rachel told us all about her mentally handicapped sister (the subject of Riding the Bus With My Sister) and how she came to write The Story of Beautiful Girl.  We got the inside scoop, and her stories were fascinating.  She is warm, intelligent, and passionate about her subjects, and it was a wonderful evening.

If you haven't read The Story of Beautiful Girl yet, you really should.  It is an amazing story, about the enduring love between a mentally handicapped woman and a deaf man, both imprisoned in an institution for years who then spend the rest of their lives trying to find each other again...and their daughter who they were forced to abandon at birth.  It's a love story, lovingly written.  Rachel Simon is a very talented writer, whether she's writing about her own life or the lives of Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and Julia.  You can read my full review here.

And I highly recommend inviting an author to one of your book group meetings!  Although Rachel lives right here in our town, she also attends book group meetings via Skype, as I am sure other authors do as well.  It is really a wonderful experience, to talk directly with the author of a favorite book, and I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as we did!