The Charlotte Hobbs Library Speaker Series continues on Thursday, February 15 at 7pm with a Zoom-only talk and discussion with Elizabeth Garber, author of “Sailing at the Edge of Disaster: A Memoir of a Young Woman’s Daring Year.” Her memoir tells the story of how as a bookish teen she and her younger brother are sent by their dominating father to “shape up” on a sail training school ship, where they discover the rigors, joys, and triumphs of being at sea. As they scour the decks, learn to splice ratlines, and climb the rigging, they also survive an act of piracy, a near-sinking, and being held hostage by armed gun boats. The book chronicles a transformative year in the throes of late adolescence that leads to courage, grace, and a reclamation of selfhood. Elizabeth Garber is also the author of Implosion: A Memoir of an Architect’s Daughter (2018) and has published three books of poetry: True Affections (2012), Listening Inside the Dance (2005), and Pierced by the Seasons (2004). Maine (Island Time) (2013) is a collaboration of her poetry with paintings and photographs of Michael Weymouth. Her essays and excerpts have appeared in Salon, Maine Homes, Johns Hopkins Magazine, and her poems have been included in several journals and anthologies. Three poems have been read on NPR’s The Writer’s Almanac. Aside from her writing, Ms. Garber has maintained a private practice as an acupuncturist for nearly forty years in mid-coast Maine.

This is a Zoom-only talk. Zoom link HERE.

The Charlotte Hobbs Library Speaker Series is supported in part by a generous contribution from Norway Savings Bank.