About this Event
This event is free to attend. Seating is first come, first served.
Meet the author, find out about a terrific new book, ask questions and hear directly from the author, and get personalized signed books!
Bookshop West Portal is excited to welcome Amy Mason Doan for a stimulating discussion about her latest novel The California Dreamers. Set in 1980's California, it tackles estranged relationships, unraveling family mysteries and long buried secrets.
You don't need to have read the book to enjoy the event! We do recommend reserving your copy ahead of time:
A group of siblings captured in an iconic beach nostalgia photo reunite on a sunny California island, where they're forced to face the fallout of their unconventional upbringing--and the golden secret that has been simmering ever since...
"A love story to an era of sun, salt air, and freedom. I promise, you will devour this novel." --Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight
"Doan's latest pulls you straight to the end like a powerful riptide. Unforgettable!" --Jessica Anya Blau, bestselling author of Mary Jane
It's 1980s California, and everyone's dreaming of the endless summer: sun-drenched beaches, infinite waves, and most of all, beautiful, beautiful freedom. For the Merrick siblings, this idyllic vision is their reality, as they travel up and down the coast with their parents in a van year-round, surfing and swimming their days away. But when a photographer secretly snaps a stunning photo of the family with their boards in the sand, and the image ripples across the country, the only life they've ever known is put at risk.
Decades after, the now-distant siblings gather on a gorgeous, wild island to honor their late father. But their reunion is complicated when a journalist, eager for the truth behind the famous photo, discovers their identity and tracks them down. As the siblings reckon with the possibility that more of their lives could be shared, a revelation about their past forces them to confront long-held heartaches. Together, they'll have to decide whether to let the same tensions rip them apart again--or if telling their story on their own terms might just be the way to recapture the family magic.
Amy Mason Doan is the bestselling author of The Summer List, Summer Hours, Lady Sunshine, and The California Dreamers. She earned a BA in English from UC Berkeley and an MA in journalism from Stanford University, and has written for The Oregonian, San Francisco Chronicle, and Forbes, among other publications. She grew up in Danville, California, and now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her family.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
BookShop West Portal, 80 West Portal Avenue, San Francisco, United States
USD 0.00
