Joyce Maynard, a former resident of Mill Valley who has written 16 books, including the novels To Die For and Labor Day (both adapted for film) and the bestselling memoir At Home in the World, is speaking at the Community Church of Mill Valley on Sunday, March 18 at 4pm.
Maynard is speaking on her latest work, the memoir The Best of Us, which concerns her marriage, at age 59, to Jim Barringer, the “love” she had been looking for her entire life. Just after their one-year anniversary, Jim was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and 19 months later, having shared a struggle that consumed both their lives, Joyce lay beside him while he took his last breath.
Maynard is speaking on her latest work, the memoir The Best of Us, which concerns her marriage, at age 59, to Jim Barringer, the “love” she had been looking for her entire life. Just after their one-year anniversary, Jim was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and 19 months later, having shared a struggle that consumed both their lives, Joyce lay beside him while he took his last breath.
“Maynard writes that she would often say, ‘If only … you could learn the lessons of cancer without having cancer,'” the San Francisco Chronicle writes: ”The Best of Us offers those very lessons, reminding readers to let go of superficial concerns and embrace a deeper appreciation for our lives and the people in them.”
The 411: Author Joyce Maynard speaks at the Community Church of Mill Valley, 8 Olive Street, on Sunday, March 18 at 4pm. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.