"Spirography: A Memoir of Family, Loss and Finding Home" by Cara Stoddard

Event Details

When
May 15, 2025 from 07:00 PM to 08:00 PM
Where
Third Place Books, Ravenna
Add it to your calendar
vCal
iCal

A Nature of Writing speaker series event, in partnership with Third Place Books

spirography.jpg
Writing from ten years after her father's death, she traces her experiences of becoming a stepparent, carrying on her dad's legacy, and, in unimaginable ways, bringing him back to life. Spirography is a coming-of-age memoir about the bond between a father and daughter, their intertwined illnesses, and the enduring love that persists even after death. This memoir follows author Cara Stoddard's intersecting experiences of cancer, grief, and sexuality, rooted in the suburban Midwest of the late twentieth century—where idyllic lake life, water sports, NASCAR, Christian rock, and a willful ignorance around queerness define the landscape. Set in the author's childhood home on a lake in Michigan, this lyrical archive of a family navigating crisis is an elegy not only for the memory of her father but also the end of her childhood spent outdoors.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cara Stoddard is a creative nonfiction writer and poet who grew up on a lake in Michigan. Their poems and essays have appeared in Fourth Genre, The Gettysburg Review, Terrain.org, and Ninth Letter. Currently, they live in Seattle and work as a grant manager for the University of Washington.

ABOUT OUR BOOKSELLER PARTNER
Now celebrating over 25 years in business, Third Place Books is a Pacific Northwest bookselling institution with three locations in the Seattle area, each featuring a partner restaurant and gathering space. Hosting nearly 300 author events a year, Third Place Books has proudly supported Puget Sound authors since 1998.