Welcome! We’re so glad you’re joining us for our celebration of the power of reading.
Here you will find special resources, exclusively available for ticket holders, to support your engagement with this year's celebration. Resources and links to videos will be available through December 31st, 2023.
Welcoming Luis Alberto Urrea
On Monday, June 12th, Words Alive welcomed Luis Alberto Urrea to San Diego for our annual Author’s Luncheon. Guests were invited to a courtyard lunch, followed by a conversation between renowned Dr. Seth Lerer and author Luis Alberto Urrea regarding his newest novel, Good Night, Irene.
About the Author
Luis Alberto Urrea is the author of numerous other works of nonfiction, poetry, and fiction, including the national bestsellers The Hummingbird's Daughter and The House of Broken Angels, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. His landmark work of nonfiction, The Devil's Highway, is now in its 30th paperback printing and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. A recipient of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, among many other honors, Urrea lives outside Chicago and teaches at the University of Illinois Chicago.
““Good Night, Irene is a beautiful, heartfelt novel that celebrates the intense power and durability of female friendship while shining a light on one of the fascinating lost women’s stories of World War II. Inspired by his own family history—and his mother’s heroism as a Red Cross volunteer during the war—Luis Urrea has created an indelible portrait of women’s courage under extreme adversity. Powerful, uplifting, and deeply personal, Good Night, Irene is a story of survival, camaraderie, and courage on the front line.””
““Urrea, who has also published poetry, has a gift for writing heart-pounding action scenes that are also lyrical.””
““As befits a contemporary war novel, Good Night, Irene is morally nuanced[...]Maybe, in Good Night, Irene, Urrea has written yet another powerful ‘border story’ after all: this time about the border between those who live in blessed ignorance of the worst humankind can do and those who keep that knowledge to themselves, often locked in silence.””
About The Presenter
Dr. Seth Lerer is an American scholar, teacher, and public lecturer who specializes in the history of English literature and the English language. He is a Distinguished Professor of Literature at University of California, San Diego, where he served as the Dean of Arts and Humanities from 2009 to 2014.
The Virtual Experience
Due to limited in-person capacity, virtual tickets will be available and include:
a recording of the discussion with the author, to watch at your leisure
a copy of Good Night, Irene mailed to your home
Virtual ticket holders will receive their packages within 2 weeks of the live event.
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Discussion Questions
Want to feature Goodnight, Irene as your next book club read? We recommend the discussion questions below:
How do you understand the friendship between Irene and Dot? Does their friendship speak to your experiences, especially with strong female friendship?
How does this book give you a new perspective on WWII? Do you think about the role that women played in the war differently, and in what ways?
Do you think the book captured the tone and feel of America in the 1940s? How do the characters talk to each other, and does that sound right to you for the time?
As you read the book, did you feel that you have family experiences that resonate with those in the book? How can you come to understand your family's past and the decisions your parents and grandparents made after reading the book?
Did you have a favorite passage, or episode in the book? What drew you to that passage: the writing, the characters, the setting?
Special Thanks
With Support From:
Thank you to our technical team for capturing this special event!
Videography by Jarnard Sutton at Nardcast Media
Photography by Arash Afshar
A very special thank you to the many volunteers and supporters who have graciously given their time and talent in support of this event.