An Afternoon with Patti Callahan Henry

Get ready for an extraordinary afternoon with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry as we celebrate the release of her captivating new novel, The Story She Left Behind! Known for her heartfelt storytelling and the way she weaves magic into every page, Patti is an author you don’t want to miss meeting in person.

Here’s your chance to chat with Patti, get your books signed, and snap a photo to remember the special occasion. Guests are welcome to bring two (2) books from home for signing, and Patti will sign and personalize all books purchased in-store or through Eventbrite—including your new copy of The Story She Left Behind!

🎟️ Tickets include a copy of The Story She Left Behind. Reserve your spot today!

Don’t miss this chance to meet Patti, share in the excitement of her newest release, and connect with fellow book lovers. We can't wait to see you there!

Inspired by a true literary mystery, New York Times bestselling author of the mesmerizing The Secret Book of Flora Lea returns with the sweeping story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter's search for them both.

In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington's magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more insatiable: her beautiful mother.

By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. When a stranger named Charlie Jameson contacts her from London claiming to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother's lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother's vanishing, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of London's most deadly natural disasters--the Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jameson's family retreat nestled in the Lake District. It is there that Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.

Told in Patti Callahan Henry's lyrical, enchanting prose, The Story She Left Behind is a captivating novel of mystery and family legacy that captures the profound longing for a mother and the evergreen allure of secrets.

Patti Callahan Henry is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of several novels, including Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis. She is the recipient of the Christy Award, the Harper Lee Award for Alabama's Distinguished Writer of the Year Award, and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year. She is the cohost and cocreator of the popular weekly online live web show and podcast Friends and Fiction. She lives in Alabama and South Carolina with her family. Find out more at PattiCallahanHenry.com.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Books-A-Million, 164 Forum Drive, Columbia, United States