Friday Night Dialogues @ the Library featuring Author Peter Boody

Friday Night Dialogues @ the Shelter Island Public Library to feature Author Peter Boody

 On July 13, 2012 at 7 pm, veteran East End newspaper editor and author, Peter Boody, will discuss his new book Thomas Jefferson, Rachel & Me. Copies will be available for sale and autographing.

 Peter Boody lives in Sag Harbor, NY. He was editor of the Southampton Press for many years. He was a regular contributor to the New York Times Long Island section, was founding editor in 2007 of the East Hampton Press, and currently edits the Shelter Island Reporter. He published a novel,  "The Consequences of Longing," with the Spiral Press of the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont in 2009.

About the Book:

What if Thomas Jefferson returned to life, penniless, powerless, and without a single slave? What if he meets a beautiful mixed-race woman he takes to be Sally Hemings reborn? What if he lands in a psycho ward or meets the President — at an Independence Day citizenship ceremony at his own hilltop home, Monticello, no less?

 Thomas Jefferson, Rachel & Me is a tale told by retired history teacher, Jack Arrowsmith, a man numbed by the deaths of his wife and son. It's about his — and his late son's girlfriend, Rachel Carter's — adventures with the writer of the Declaration of Independence. They meet the ghost of Jefferson at Monticello and, fighting off their panic, agree to take him off to see America. A history grad student at Columbia, Rachel knows secrets about Jack’s son and wife that she decides Jack must know. They will turn his world upside down, just as Rachel's world will be changed forever by her evolving relationship with Jefferson. Dazzled by Rachel, Jefferson regains the vigor of his prime as the trio travels together. But what then?

 For its all fast pace and humor, Thomas Jefferson, Rachel & Me is a story about hauntings and history. It's about love and friendship, grief and loss, family secrets, and America’s own denial of its past. This is a story that will stay with you long after its bittersweet finale.

 Book Reviews:

“This book feels like a journal of a close friend, which made each discovery more personal and unforgettable. ‘Thomas Jefferson, Rachel & Me’ is a fun, emotional exploration of human interactions that everyone will find to be captivating. This is a story that will touch your heart and make you think, regardless of what century you call home.” - 5 STARS from San Francisco Book Review

“Boody’s writing is so good ... [he] gives Jefferson a wholly authentic voice, with genuine dialogue that bears the stamp of a bygone era. Whatever the reader’s opinion of the third U.S. president, this Jefferson is delightfully quirky, flawed yet sympathetic and fascinating. Boody’s novel cleverly introduces history to today’s technology, politics and economy. An engrossing, haunting story about making up for lost time.” -Kirkus Reviews