BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6B94A778-DE35-4795-A8E5-6BC0397901B6 DTSTART:20240709T190000Z DTEND:20240709T200000Z SUMMARY:Talk and Book Signing with Jessica Goudeau DESCRIPTION:Join Half Price Books for a conversation with award-winning aut hor Jessica Goudeau and national correspondent for The New York Times Ruth Graham\, as they discuss Jessica's new book\, We Were Illegal . Book sign ing to follow. Tickets\, which include a copy of the book\, must be pre-pu rchased through Eventbrite for this event. \n About We Were Illegal \nAn a ward-winning author's deep exploration of pivotal moments in Texas history through multiple generations of her own family\, and a ruthless reexamina tion of our national and personal myths Seven generations of Jessica Goude au’s family have lived in Texas\, and her family’s legacy—a word she heard often growing up—was rooted in faith\, right-living\, and the hard work t hat built their great state. It wasn’t until her aunt mentioned a stowaway ancestor and she began to dig more deeply into the story of the land she lives on today in suburban Austin\, that Goudeau discovered her family’s far more complicated role in Texas history: from a swindling land grant a gent in the earliest days of Anglo settlement that brought slavery to Mexi can land\, up through her Texas Ranger great-uncle\, who helped a sociopat hic sheriff cover up mass murder. Tracking her ancestors’ involvement in p ivotal moments from before the Texas Revolution through today\, We Were Il legal is at once an intimate and character-driven narrative and an insider ’s look at a state that prides itself on its history. It is an act of reck oning and recovery on a personal scale\, as well as a reflection of the wo rk we all must do to dismantle the whitewashed narratives that are passed down through families\, communities\, and textbooks. And it is a story fi lled with hope—by facing these hypocrisies and long-buried histories\, Gou deau explores with us how to move past this fractured time\, take accounta bility for our legacy\, and learn to be better\, more honest ancestors. \n Advance Praise for We Were Illegal \n“An empathic and thoughtfully told w ork\, sure to encourage reflection on the legacies we choose to inherit.” \n— Booklist \n  \n“Disturbed by a rise of xenophobic extremism in her ho me state of Texas\, journalist Goudeau sets out in this ruminative account to investigate whether her family has always been as welcoming toward str angers as they were during her childhood… Introspective and detailed\, Gou deau’s questing narrative\, which strikes out in many directions in search of answers [is] a valuable contribution to Texas history.” \n— Publishers Weekly \n  \n“This is not just a book about one family\, or one state. At a time when history has become a primary battlefield in the culture wars\ , We Were Illegal models for us how to engage the darker chapters of our i ndividual and collective stories\, and shows us why we must. With unflinch ing honesty and deep empathy\, Jessica Goudeau brings readers to a place o f hard-earned hope. Thoroughly engrossing\, this book is a gift to a divid ed nation." — Kristin Kobes Du Mez\, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractu red a Nation \n  \n“A riveting and honest look at the myths that become ou r official histories\, our laws\, and the stories we tell ourselves. Goude au makes history come alive and feel more relevant than ever.” \n— Bryan B urrough\, co-author of Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth \n  \n“Clear-eyed\, deeply moral and rigorously researched… We Were Illegal is a necessary corrective\, and a gripping read for anyone intere sted in how our national myths are shaped.” \n— Alejandra Oliva\, author o f Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language\, Faith and Migration \n  \n“You sta rt turning over rocks in Texas and there’s no telling what will crawl out. Jessica Goudeau digs centuries deep into her family’s past and emerges wi th some astonishing tales: land thefts\, murder and official corruption\, but also great bravery\, perseverance\, and heroic sacrifice. In a state where the whitewashing of history is government sanctioned\, We Were Ille gal delivers the real story. This is a courageous book.” \n— Doug J. Swans on\, author of Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Ran gers \n  \n“In this richly written epic\, Goudeau deftly takes on myths so important to Texans\, arguing that the way we’ve long told our stories ha s created the extreme political climate we see today. Beneath this enthral ling saga beats\, at its heart\, an impassioned plea: that setting the rec ord straight will allow Texas\, and the nation\, to live up to its lofty i deals at last.” \n— Roxanna Asgarian\, author of We Were Once a Family \, winner of the ALA Carnegie Medal \n  \n About Jessica Goudeau \n Jessica Goudeau is the author of After the Last Border: Two Families and the Stor y of Refuge in America\, which won the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize\, a Chr istopher Award\, and was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice book. She has been a columnist for Catapult and written for The New York Times\, Th e Atlantic\, and Washington Post\, among many other places . She produced short documentaries distributed by Teen Vogue and The New Yorker about yo ung women crossing borders. She has a PhD in literature from the Universit y of Texas and teaches Creative Nonfiction at Wilkes University. \n About Ruth Graham \nRuth Graham is a national correspondent covering religion\, faith\, and values for The New York Times. She lives in Dallas.\nHalf Pri ce Books\n5803 East Northwest Highway\nDallas\, TX 75231 United States\n LOCATION:5803 East Northwest Highway\, Dallas\, TX 75231 URL:http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/parkcities_calendar/library/ 3560452/key/3511854730/Talk_and_Book_Signing_with_Jessica_Goudeau CREATED:20240703T192902Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240703T192902Z DTSTAMP:20260825T125837Z CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED TRANSP:TRANSPARENT SEQUENCE:1 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR