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Joyce Maynard Publicity Photo 2024

Enchanted Evening with Joyce Maynard on July 10, 2024!

The Friends of the Delaware County District Library were thrilled to host NYT best selling author Joyce Maynard for the release of her new novel How the Light Gets In during an enchanted evening at the The Dempsey Event Center. In addition to her storied career as a writer of books about family, love and loss, Joyce is also revered for her memoir writing and healing workshops.

In front of a sold out crowd, guests saw a demonstration of singing bowls and chi gong before Joyce enchanted everyone with her stories and a reading about motherhood. Joyce was in conversation with our good Friend and author, Lee Martin.
 
A light summer supper prepared by Clara McCammon and team and a fun cork people station were enjoyed by everyone while Joyce signed her books with not only her signature but a special doodle. Guests came from as far away as South Carolina and Michigan. Lots of great feedback received including two library staff members who also brought their Moms!
 
Joyce was delighted with the evening event and posted a wonderful thank you on social media  in appreciation of libraries and our Friends group. Here is what she had to say:
 
“I want to say a few words about libraries.  Most of all, I want to say something about Friends of Libraries groups and the many men and women I’ve met over my years as a writer—and on my current book tour across the country—who make libraries one of the most precious resources in our communities.
 
Last night, as the guest of the Delaware County Library in Columbus, Ohio, I got to meet close to a hundred men and women---mostly from Ohio, but a few who’d travelled from out of state—for a conversation about my new novel, How the Light Gets In.  We gathered in a fabulous glass atrium at the former home of an Ohio philanthropist, Judith Dempsey—now known as the Dempsey Center (surrounded by geodes from Judith Dempsey’s collection).  It was an evening I will not forget.
 
But as lively and inspiring as the discussion proved to be, the most extraordinary part of the evening was going on in the Dempsey Center kitchen, where a team of Friends of the Library volunteers set out what they called “a charcuterie”—though it was so much more than that.  A kind of art work…
 
The women who set out that presentation –also a cork-person-making station, and a Tai chi demonstration, and a a demonstration of singing bowls—are the largely unsung heroes of the library.  So I’ll sing this out today, as loud and clear as I can. 
 
Where would we be without libraries?  Where would libraries be without Friends of Libraries.
 
That’s why, if there’s a Friends of the Library group that invites me to their city or town, I’ll always try my darnedest to get there.”
 
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