For more events or to list author events in our calendar, visit The Press Democrat's events listings at pressdemocrat.com.
<strong> SUNDAY (Oct 13)</strong>
<strong>Shepherd Hoodwin, "Journey of Your Soul,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>Even at birth, everyone is unique. Can heredity alone account for the complex differences in people's temperaments and styles? The Michael teachings, an extraordinary body of channeled work, propose that we are each unique souls who deliberately take on a specific combination of traits to give us the experiences we seek. In this fascinating book, Shepherd Hoodwin expertly discusses these teachings from his vantage point as a Michael channel.</em> Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. 415-927-0960, <a href="http://bookpassage.com" target="_blank">bookpassage.com</a>.
<strong>MONDAY (Oct 14)</strong>
<strong>Wendy Jehanara Tremayne, "The Good Life Lab: Radical Experiments in Hands-On Living,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>This is the inspirational story of how one couple ditched their careers and high-pressure life in New York City to move to rural New Mexico, where they made, built, invented, foraged, and grew all they needed to live self-sufficiently, discovering a new sense of value and abundance in the process. Alongside their personal story are tips and tutorials to guide readers in the discovery of a fulfilling new lifestyle that relies less on money. Tremayne wholeheartedly believes that everyone has the skill, imagination and creativity to make it work. </em> Copperfield's Books, 138 N. Main St., Sebastopol, 823-2618, <a href="http://copperfieldsbooks.com/" target="_blank">copperfieldsbooks.com</a>.
<strong>TUESDAY (Oct 15)</strong>
<strong> Jamie Ford, "Songs of Willow Frost,"</strong> 6:30 p.m.,: <em>Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese American boy, has lived at Seattle's Sacred Heart Orphanage ever since his mother's listless body was carried away from their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday—or rather, the day the nuns designate as his birthday—William and the other orphans are taken to the historical Moore Theatre, where William glimpses an actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost. Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his mother, Liu Song.</em> Copperfield's Books, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, 578-8938, <a href="http://copperfieldsbooks.com/" target="_blank">copperfieldsbooks.com</a>.
<strong>Ann Hood, "The Obituary Writer,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>On the day John F. Kennedy is inaugurated, Claire, an uncompromising young wife and mother obsessed with the glamour of Jackie O, struggles over the decision of whether to stay in a loveless marriage or follow the man she loves and whose baby she may be carrying. Decades earlier, in 1919, Vivien Lowe, an obituary writer, is searching for her lover who disappeared in the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. By telling the stories of the dead, Vivien not only helps others cope with their grief but also begins to understand the devastation of her own terrible loss. The surprising connection between Claire and Vivien will change the life of one of them in unexpected and extraordinary ways.</em> Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960, bookpassage.com.
<strong>WEDNESDAY (Oct 16)</strong>
<strong>David McCuan in conversation with author Chuck McFadden, "Trailblazer: A Biography of Jerry Brown,"</strong> 12 p.m.: <em>In this first biography of Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. in more than thirty years, Chuck McFadden explores the unique persona of one of the most idiosyncratic politicians in California history.</em> Sonoma State University Library, 1801 East Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. Info, karen.brodsky@sonoma.edu.