Featuring Authors Rachel Beanland and Mimi Zieman

The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland is a “wildly entertaining” (NPR), “gripping” (The Washington Post) work of historical fiction about an incendiary tragedy that shocked a young nation and tore apart a community in a single night. Based on the true story of the Richmond Theater Fire of 1811, The House Is on Fire offers proof that sometimes, in the midst of great tragedy, we are offered our most precious—and fleeting—chances at redemption. A Good Morning America Buzz Pick!

Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor’s Unlikely Adventure by Mimi Zieman, MD is sparkling with suspense and vulnerability, a coming-of-age story about the risks we take to become our most authentic selves. Mimi Zieman blazes an unlikely journey from the daughter of Jewish immigrants raised in an Orthodox community in New York City, to the doctor and only woman on an Everest expedition as a 25-year-old medical student.

A MUST-READ book pick of 2024—Independent Book Reviews Winner; 2024 Pencraft Award for Literary Excellence

In-person at The J ticketed event: $36. Enjoy 20% of each author's book when purchased with your lunch ticket.

Registration Deadline: Thursday, November 7

NOTE: The correct time is 12 PM (the printed brochure time was incorrect)

About the Authors:

Rachel Beanland's debut novel Florence Adler Swims Forever received critical acclaim. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and earned her MFA in creative writing from Virginia Commonwealth University. She lives with her husband and three children in Richmond, Virginia.

Mimi Zieman's play, The Post-Roe Monologues, has been performed in multiple cities. A board-certified OB/GYN specialized in Complex Family Planning, she's co-authored sixteen editions of Managing Contraception with over one million copies distributed. Her writing has appeared in popular publications. Above all she treasures her family which includes her husband, three grown children, bonus daughter, granddaughter, and rambunctious pup.

Silver Book Sponsor: West Bloomfield Township Public Library

Bronze Book Sponsors: National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan; The Women of Temple Israel