~ LIVE EVENTS ~
UPCOMING EVENTS
Private book club and teaching events ongoing (Please message me here about joining your book club conversation, medical school/healing professions trainee presentation, creative nonfiction interest group, or other gathering—locally or virtually!)
All events listed below are free and open to the public. Funds for donation are derived by redirecting speaker’s fees and book sales revenue.
TUESDAY, APRIL 14TH, 6 PM PDT— SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY ONLINE
Virtual event hosted by the Business, Science, and Technology Center of the San Francisco Public Library. With Held Together collaborator Kelly Burke. A conversation about challenges in parenthood and family relationships, the diversity of experiences in motherhood, and navigating chronic diseases within the context of family life.
BAY AREA EVENTS!
TUESDAY, APRIL 21ST, 5:30 PM — BOOK PASSAGE IN THE FERRY BUILDING
THURSDAY, APRIL 23RD, 7 PM — BOOKS INC, PALO ALTO LOCATION
Two in-person events on the Bay Area leg of our book tour! With Held Together collaborator Dafna (Devorah) Lohr. A conversation about providing reproductive health care while pregnant and parenting, navigating patienthood as a medical professional, and considering how our own personal and medical challenges affect the care we can offer to others.
(We’re also offering meetups and book club gatherings to local medical trainees and other healthcare professionals during this visit—please message me for more information or to propose a conversation with your group!)
PAST EVENTS
POWELL’S CITY OF BOOKS (Portland, OR) — April 2025. In conversation with Wendy Davis, PhD, PMH-C, of Postpartum Support International, and three of Held Together’s collaborators: Dr. Thompson’s obstetrician, Dafna (Devorah) Lohr, MD, and two of her own patients, Kelly Burke and Anna David.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION AUTHOR SERIES (St. Louis, MO) — May 2025. In conversation with reproductive mental health therapist Shellie Fidell, MSW, LCSW. And I was honored to meet—and give a copy of Held Together to—one of my longtime narrative medicine heroes, Dr. Abraham Verghese, who presented in the series the night before I did! Travel funds to benefit St. Louis tornado relief fund.
GARDEN HOME COMMUNITY LIBRARY (Portland, OR) — May 2025. A reading and Q&A—including collaborators Mitra Hasan and Anna David sharing excerpts from their own chapters too!
MAGERS & QUINN BOOKSELLERS (Minneapolis, MN) — June 2025. In conversation with Held Together collaborator Eileen Andersen. (Recording available here for those who missed it!)
BOLD COFFEE & BOOKS (Portland, OR) — July 2025. In conversation with Held Together collaborator Kelly Burke for a reading, a conversation, a Q&A…. All in a delightfully cozy coffee shop bookstore, recently opened by my book-loving (and book industry expert!) friend Ali Shaw and her family. You can read more about BOLD’s amazing origin story here too.
THIRD PLACE BOOKS, SEWARD PARK (Seattle, WA) — July 2025. In conversation about the wilderness of motherhood with Amber J. Keyser, PhD, author of The V-Word: True Stories about First-Time Sex and The Way Back from Broken.
SEASIDE PUBLIC LIBRARY (Seaside, OR) — July 2025. In conversation with Held Together collaborator Kelly Burke and in partnership with Beach Books. You can read a local newspaper piece about the event here. All profits to benefit The Trevor Project.
COFFEE TALK ONLINE GATHERING (virtual) — October 2025 event hosted by the Coffee & Grief community. You can also check out their Facebook page to learn more, find previous episodes, and join their community for companionship and support. (Recording in podcast listing below.)
ANNIE BLOOM’S BOOKS (Portland, OR) — October 2025. With Held Together collaborator Dafna (Devorah) Lohr, MD.
MAGGIE MAE’S BOOKSHOP (Gresham, OR) — November 2025. With Held Together collaborator Anna David. A conversation about how our perceptions of self are shaped by our experiences with the medical system, how to balance trusting our intuition about our own bodies with considering sometimes-conflicting advice from others who care for us, and how to parent through uncertainty when we (or our children) are facing medical complexity, especially when we don't yet know what influences a given condition or diagnosis might have on our lives.
CLEAN AIR EVENTS (virtual) — January 2026. Online gathering hosted by Seattle-based organization CAE. In conversation with fellow Pacific Northwesterner and mom who gets it, Kristin Stevens. In community, in solidarity, in collective action…. All profits to benefit RESOLVE, The National Infertility Association.
LAKE OSWEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY THIRD TUESDAY AUTHOR SERIES — February 2026. In-person event at the Lake Theater in Lake Oswego, OR. With Held Together collaborator Kelly Burke. A conversation about Kelly’s experience of living with a chronic illness that threatens her personal and professional identities, talking to children about serious medical conditions and death, and recognizing the ways that physical limitations affect how we relate to our loved ones and shape how we understand ourselves. All profits to benefit the Children’s Literacy Project, a national nonprofit organization based in Lake Oswego.
BEAVERTON CITY LIBRARY STORYTELLING SERIES — March 2026. In-person event in Beaverton, OR. Featuring a dynamic woven reading including many of the book’s collaborators and touching on themes such as facing uncertainty in family life, reclaiming our narratives to create new meanings, reconsidering our roles in our families of origin, exploring the effects of illness and ability on relationships, and seeking and building and nurturing family in all its diverse forms. Thank you for joining us for an engaging evening in celebration of the extraordinary moments hidden within ordinary lives! All profits to benefit the Children’s Literacy Project.