Join Linda Watanabe McFerrin and the Wanderland Writers for a special evening entitled "A Winter in Wanderland." For more information, visit www.leftcoastwriters.com.

Of the 918 Americans who died in the shocking murder-suicides of November 18, 1978, in the tiny South American country of Guyana, a third were under eighteen. More than half were in their twenties or younger. "And Then They Were Gone: Teenagers from Peoples Temple from High School to Jonestown" begins in San Francisco at the small school where Reverend Jim Jones enrolled the teens of his Peoples Temple church in 1976. Within a year, most had been sent to join Jones and other congregants in what Jones promised was a tropical paradise based on egalitarian values, but which turned out to be a deadly prison camp. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the late 1970s, And Then They Were Gone draws from interviews, books, and articles. Many of these powerful stories are told here for the first time.

Judy Bebelaar taught English and creative writing in San Francisco public high schools for 37 years. She has received national recognition for her success in helping students find joy in writing their lives. Her poetry has been published widely. Her chapbook, Walking Across the Pacific, was published in 2014 by Finishing Line Press. Her poems appear in three anthologies: Turning a Train of Thought Upside Down (Scarlet Tanager Press, 2012); The Widows’ Handbook (Kent State U. Press 2014); and in River of Earth and Sky (Blue Light Press, 2015).

Ron Cabral, a native of San Francisco, entered teaching in the San Francisco Unified School District in 1965 and became a Middle School principal in 1992. He served 35 years in that capacity, finally retiring in 2002. Ron met Judy Bebelaar, a fellow teacher, in 1969 at Opportunity 1, where he taught Urban Problems, Music Appreciation, Journalism, Drugs and Society, and Radio Production. He also managed and coached the school baseball team. He later transferred to Wilson High School in 1978. Ron is married with three grown children and five grandsons. He lives in Contra Costa County.

Featuring Hidden Compass editors Sabine Bergman & Sivani Babu.

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Sivani Babu is the co-founder and Creative Director of Hidden Compass. She is an award-winning writer and photographer who has contributed work to such organizations and publications as BBC Travel, CNN, Backpacker, Outdoor Photographer, Nature Photographer, Iron Horse Literary Review, and Expressions — the North American Nature Photography Association’s annual showcase of the best nature photos. Sivani is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where she studied economics and education policy, and of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She served as an eighth grade math teacher with Teach for America before becoming a trial attorney. Ultimately, her love of adventure and storytelling took her away from a career as a federal public defender and sent her sailing across the Drake Passage to Antarctica, chasing storms through Tornado Alley, searching for polar bears in the Arctic, and road tripping across the United States with a former teacher of hers from high school.

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Sabine Bergmann is the co-founder and Editorial Director of Hidden Compass. As an award-winning travel, science and nature writer, she contributes stories to publications such as Sierra Magazine, Bay Nature Magazine, California Magazine, WIRED, Geographic Expeditions, Ethical Traveler, The Best Travel Writing series and others. Sabine is a Stanford University-trained environmental researcher and community coordinator who has worked on conservation projects from the Amazon Basin to the Great Barrier Reef. She has battled dengue in the Peace Corps, mountain biked from the Andes to the Amazon, and inadvertently partnered with cocaine-smuggling fishermen in the Caribbean. As an editor, she has shaped more than 200,000 words of creative nonfiction for publication. Sabine is currently at work on her first book, Jaded Altruism: How Persistence, Not Perfection, Will Create a Better World.

Once again Wanderland Writers head south to explore—this time to Cuba, an island country that has paid a high price for self-determination:  revolution, isolation and hardship. But somehow this nation and its amazing people continue to reinvent themselves and fascinate us with their marvelous creativity and vitality. In Wandering in Cuba: Revolution and Beyond, work from Linda Watanbe McFerrin, Joanna Biggar, and more take readers from city to countryside, enjoying the history, the rhythms, the tastes, the sights, and the soul of this intriguing island nation. Everywhere, of course, we encountered its Revolution and recorded our understanding of its triumphs and failures. We met and wrote about traditional Cuba: its heroes—José Martí, Fidel, Che, Hemingway—and its enduring culture as found in food, music and its African-based religion, Santería. But we also experienced Cuba in its present reality, beyond the Revolution. We found poets, artists, filmmakers and a whole generation of young people who embrace and are shaping Cuba’s future.

You will meet them here.

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Linda Watanabe McFerrin and Joanna Biggar have floated down the Canal du Midi in France, danced in the sunlight of southern Greece, toasted the best of times in Ireland, devoured the culture and countryside of southern Italy, wandered through landscapes lost and found in Costa Rica, and explored the Indonesian island that is known as an earthly Paradise. In each destination, they eat and drink, laugh and get lost, explore and expound with their merry band of travel writers. And they always return with a varied collection of tales, some mystical, some funny, some terrifying—each told in a different, highly personal voice.

Please join Left Coast Writers® for an uproarious and sometimes rather farfetched evening with Matthew Félix as he debuts his latest book, Porcelain Travels.

Matthew Félix is not a luxury traveler. But even traveling on a budget fails to explain why he has so many unforgettable experiences on the toilet, in the tub, or under the shower.From Matthew’s unorthodox bathing practices in Paris and Istanbul to his nightmare while squatting in Morocco to the Dead Sea shower incident that led to an arrest, Porcelain Travels is sometimes hilarious, occasionally shocking, and always entertaining.

Matthew Félix is an author, podcast producer and host, and traveler. Adventure, humor, and spirituality infuse his work, which often draws on his time living in Spain, France, and Turkey, as well as travels in over fifty countries. Matthew’s debut novel, A Voice Beyond Reason, is the story of how a young Spaniard’s awakening to his intuition gets him out of his head, so he can follow his heart. Matthew’s travel-story collection, With Open Arms, recounts his humorous and harrowing experiences on two trips to Morocco. His video podcast, Matthew Félix On Air, features guests discussing writing, travel, culture, and more. Matthew has also produced three podcasts based on his books.

Of the 918 Americans who died in the shocking murder-suicides of November 18, 1978, in the tiny South American country of Guyana, a third were under eighteen. More than half were in their twenties or younger. "And Then They Were Gone: Teenagers from Peoples Temple from High School to Jonestown" begins in San Francisco at the small school where Reverend Jim Jones enrolled the teens of his Peoples Temple church in 1976. Within a year, most had been sent to join Jones and other congregants in what Jones promised was a tropical paradise based on egalitarian values, but which turned out to be a deadly prison camp. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the late 1970s, And Then They Were Gone draws from interviews, books, and articles. Many of these powerful stories are told here for the first time.

Judy Bebelaar taught English and creative writing in San Francisco public high schools for 37 years. She has received national recognition for her success in helping students find joy in writing their lives. Her poetry has been published widely. Her chapbook, Walking Across the Pacific, was published in 2014 by Finishing Line Press. Her poems appear in three anthologies: Turning a Train of Thought Upside Down (Scarlet Tanager Press, 2012); The Widows’ Handbook (Kent State U. Press 2014); and in River of Earth and Sky (Blue Light Press, 2015).

Once again Wanderland Writers head south to explore—this time to Cuba, an island country that has paid a high price for self-determination:  revolution, isolation and hardship. But somehow this nation and its amazing people continue to reinvent themselves and fascinate us with their marvelous creativity and vitality. In Wandering in Cuba: Revolution and Beyond, work from Linda Watanbe McFerrin, Joanna Biggar, and more take readers from city to countryside, enjoying the history, the rhythms, the tastes, the sights, and the soul of this intriguing island nation. Everywhere, of course, we encountered its Revolution and recorded our understanding of its triumphs and failures. We met and wrote about traditional Cuba: its heroes—José Martí, Fidel, Che, Hemingway—and its enduring culture as found in food, music and its African-based religion, Santería. But we also experienced Cuba in its present reality, beyond the Revolution. We found poets, artists, filmmakers and a whole generation of young people who embrace and are shaping Cuba’s future. 

You will meet them here.

..........................................................................................................................

Linda Watanabe McFerrin and Joanna Biggar have floated down the Canal du Midi in France, danced in the sunlight of southern Greece, toasted the best of times in Ireland, devoured the culture and countryside of southern Italy, wandered through landscapes lost and found in Costa Rica, and explored the Indonesian island that is known as an earthly Paradise. In each destination, they eat and drink, laugh and get lost, explore and expound with their merry band of travel writers. And they always return with a varied collection of tales, some mystical, some funny, some terrifying—each told in a different, highly personal voice.

Join Wanderland editors Linda Watanabe McFerrin and Joanna Biggar for a celebration of traveling and writing!

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Book Passage hosts the monthly meetings of Left Coast Writers® at our Corte Madera store. This Literary Salon is led by author/teacher Linda Watanabe McFerrin. The monthly meetings provide an evening of literary connections, support, counsel, provocative readings, writing tips, literary chat, unabashed networking, and great fun. Each meeting also features a presentation by one of several Bay Area literary figures. The fee includes membership in Left Coast Writers®, a group of new and experienced writers. LCW has its own lively newsletter and website at www.leftcoastwriters.com/.

Left Coast Writers® Book Launch

In Better Than This, sometimes the most enviable life is really a private hell.

On the surface, Sarah Jenkins appears to have it all: a handsome, wealthy and successful husband, a precocious five-year-old daughter, and a beautiful home in an affluent Seattle neighborhood. Her quirky best friend and fellow high school teacher, Maggie, marvels at her luck―and envies her happiness.

But Sarah is far from happy. She feels empty and on edge, harangued by a critical inner voice―and as the truth about her marriage and details of her past emerge, her “perfect” life begins to crumble. But just when it seems all is lost, a long forgotten, unopened letter changes everything, and with the support of friends, Sarah begins to rebuild her life. Can she quiet the critical voice in her head and learn to value herself instead?

Cathy Zane is a writer, psychotherapist, and former nurse who draws on her many years of working with women and families to create narratives of growth and empowerment. As a lifelong reader, she believes in the power of story to not only entertain but inspire, connect us to our common humanity, and instill hope.

Featuring Marin Poet Laureate Rebecca Foust!

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Book Passage hosts the monthly meetings of Left Coast Writers® at our Corte Madera store. This Literary Salon is led by author/teacher Linda Watanabe McFerrin. The monthly meetings provide an evening of literary connections, support, counsel, provocative readings, writing tips, literary chat, unabashed networking, and great fun. Each meeting also features a presentation by one of several Bay Area literary figures. The fee includes membership in Left Coast Writers®, a group of new and experienced writers. LCW has its own lively newsletter and website at www.leftcoastwriters.com/.