Book Discussion: Even As We Breathe In-Person
Join us for a discussion of Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, the first novel published by an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The book was a finalist for the Weatherford Award, winner of the 2021 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award, and named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. Please register so we know how many attendees to expect.
Book description: Nineteen-year-old Cowney Sequoyah yearns to escape his hometown of Cherokee, North Carolina. A summer job at Asheville’s luxurious Grove Park Inn brings him one step closer to escaping the hills that both cradle and suffocate him. With World War II raging in Europe, the resort is the temporary home of Axis diplomats and their families, who are being held as prisoners of war. This novel explores the immutable nature of the human spirit and the idea that physical existence, with all its strife and injustice, will not be humanity’s lasting legacy.
This event is part of our Community Read Series, supported by a grant from the Lillian E. and Earl A. Bettinger Charitable Fund at the Polk County Community Foundation.
- Date:
- Thursday, October 8, 2026
- Time:
- 4:00pm - 5:00pm
- Time Zone:
- Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
- Library:
- Columbus Library
- Audience:
- Adults
- Categories:
- Adult Programs
- Attachments: