Swannanoa Valley Book Club
Are you interested in exploring and learning more about our region through novels, poetry and historic nonfiction? The Swannanoa Valley Book Club series presented by the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center in collaboration with the Black Mountain Library, hosts monthly events featuring discussion and visits from regional authors.
When & Where
The Book Club events take place once a month on Friday mornings, April thru August in the Library’s Community Room. A book club discussion takes place from 10:00-10:30am, followed by a short break. The author then conducts a reading and takes questions from 11:00am to noon.
Registration is required for these free events. Please visit HERE for the full schedule and registration information.
April 26th: The World Beyond the Redbud Tree, with author Madison Brightwell
The world as we know it is built upon choices. If different choices had been made in the past, we might be living in an entirely different world. What if the so-called Lost Colony of settlers in North Carolina were in fact not lost at all but instead merged happily with the Native American tribes to create a new people and unique society? Sixteen-year-old Charli is living in a pandemic-ravaged 2020 America when she stumbles upon the parallel world of the Q’ehazi. Drawn to these peaceful people, whose constant joy and optimism provides a stark contrast to the suffering and violence in her own life, Charli wants nothing more than to stay with them forever-but first, she must learn to attain a state of grace. Can she forgive her mother’s abusive boyfriend? Can she learn empathy for her mother? In The World Beyond the Redbud Tree, Charli’s inward and outward struggles will lead her to a discovery she wasn’t even looking for: the beauty of her own world.