Author Talk: Pausing in the Liminal Spaces with Barbara Bates Conroy

Embodied Memoir Writing is honored to share this inspiring and important author discussion with Barbara Bates Conroy. After the passing of her twenty-one-year-old son Jack, Barbara wrote her grief through a series of love letters to him. This tender collection became her memoir, Dear Jack, which inspired the feature documentary film Hooked, and sparked a national advocacy movement and resource for substance use recovery. Barbara will share how she contended with the elusive “vulnerability hangover” that came afterward and how she, her three surviving children, and Jack’s father navigated the public exposure. Barbara’s creative path took a turn away from memoir to publish a table cookbook inspired by the family's restaurant business called a touch of salt: stories and ingredients from the sea. Today, as she awaits her first grandchild, Barbara is writing her debut children’s book from the sea and me.  

Join Sherry + Barbara in this inspiring conversation…