In conversation with Mary Beth Keane, moderated by Carol VanDenHende
3:40 – 4:30 at Church of the Redeemer
About the author
Laura Spence-Ash’s debut novel, Beyond That, the Sea, was published by Celadon Books on March 21, 2023. The novel received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, was named a GMA Buzz Pick, and was an Indie Next pick for April 2023. Her short fiction has appeared in One Story, New England Review, Crazyhorse, and elsewhere. Her critical essays and book reviews appear regularly in the Ploughshares blog. She received her MFA in fiction from Rutgers–Newark, and she teaches writing and provides editorial feedback. She lives in Hopewell, New Jersey.
MFOB featured book: Beyond That, the Sea
A sweeping, tenderhearted love story, Beyond That, the Sea tells the story of two families on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and the young woman who will call them both her own. As German bombs fall over London in 1940, the Thompsons make an impossible choice: they decide to send their eleven-year-old daughter, Beatrix, to America to live with the Gregorys. The novel follows both families for over thirty years, as their lives come together and move apart. Beyond That, the Sea is a novel full of grace and heartache, forgiveness and understanding, loss and love.
