Busboys and Poets Books Presents FORGET PRAYERS, BRING CAKE with Merissa Nathan Gerson
Date and Time
Oct 3, 2021 5:30 pm
Location
Takoma
235 Carroll St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20012
Oct 3, 2021 5:30 pm
Takoma
Join us for an in person celebration of FORGET PRAYERS, BRING CAKE: A SINGLE WOMAN’S GUIDE TO GRIEVING by Merissa Nathan Gerson at Busboys and Poets of Takoma on October 3rd, 2021 (released August 17th, 2021). FORGET PRAYERS, BRING CAKE: A SINGLE WOMAN’S GUIDE TO GRIEVING is the answer to a question we don’t find ourselves asking until we experience the grief that brings them up: How do you grieve alone?
This was a question Merissa had when tragedy struck just as she was moving into a new home, single and without roommates. As she renovated and continued moving in, Merissa learned different ways to ground herself, both spiritually and emotionally, that called on her to actively think about self-care and really find a partner within herself to grieve with. FORGET PRAYERS, BRING CAKE teaches you how to find what works for you in terms of self-care and loving yourself, while also learning how to lean on those around you for love and support in times of grief. And that grief can be any kind- professional, personal, romantic, familial, or even just the sadness of existing in today's world with real time news.
The celebration starts at 5:30 PM with a half hour of social time before we begin the program with a live reading from Merissa herself, followed by Merissa and a surprise conversation partner discussing grief, self-care, and the power of affection and community in the everyday (when tragedy strikes and otherwise). There’ll be cake, a chance to get your copy of FORGET PRAYERS, BRING CAKE signed, more cake, Q&A with Merissa herself, and did we mention cake?Please RSVP if you are joining us in person or are interested in purchasing a signed book with shipping (limited to those tuning in via livestream) The program will begin at 6 PM with an introduction from Busboys and Poets Books Director of Operations, Lori Barrientos Sanchez, before Merissa’s live reading and subsequent discussion of FORGET PRAYERS, BRING CAKE. There will be time for Q&A with the audience before the end of the program, as well as the opportunity to purchase a copy of FORGET PRAYERS, BRING CAKE for Merissa to sign the night of!
FORGET PRAYERS, BRING CAKE: A SINGLE WOMAN’S GUIDE TO GRIEVING- Though at times it may seem impossible, we can heal with help from our friends and community– if we know how to ask. This heartrending, relatable account of one woman’s reckoning with loss is a guide to the world of self-recovery, self-love, and the skills necessary to meeting one's own needs in these times of pain– especially when that pain is suffered alone.
Grief is all around us. In the world of today it has become common and layered, no longer only an occasional weight. A book needed now more than ever, Forget Prayers, Bring Cake is for people of all ages and orientations dealing with grief of any sort—professional, personal, romantic, familial, or even the sadness of the modern day. This book provides actions to boost self-care and self-worth; it shows when and how to ask for love and attention, and how to provide it for others. It shows that it is okay to define your needs and ask others to share theirs. In a moment in which community, affection, and generosity are needed more than ever, this book is an indispensable road map.
This book will be a guiding light to a healthier mental state amid these troubled times.
Merissa Nathan Gerson is a New Orleans-based writer, professor and sex educator. Her written work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Playboy, and Tablet, among others, and she was the inherited trauma consultant for Amazon’s Emmy Award winning television show, Transparent.
