Tag: Massachusetts author

talkin’ political polarization in families at the southborough public library

I enjoyed a substantive discussion with the folks at Southborough Public Library about political divisions in families during the Trump era, as well as how to deal with aging parents who make decisions that negatively affect their health and/or their finances, major themes explored in Louie on the Rocks.

Prior to the Q&A, I gave a 20-minute speech about the impact of our intense political divisions on not just our families but on our local communities as well. Here’s an excerpt:

My Louie character is a proxy for MAGA voters who see the world in which they grew up transformed into something they don’t recognize. Louie was a blue-collar worker who never went to college but who married and put his daughter through school. He thinks the world has left him behind and he’s angry about that. He lashes out against things that challenge his world view, that make him feel insecure, that make him feel less-than. 

Helen represents that middle-of-the-road person who wants to love and stand by Louie for the wonderful things he’s done, but who also chastises him for the homophobic things he says and for supporting a candidate whom she believes spouts hatred. 

The Lulu character is a proxy for progressive voters who just want to be free to live their own lives. They don’t understand why who they love or what kinds of food they choose to eat triggers some people. Lulu’s anger that her mother failed to cut Louie out of her life because of the hatred he espoused, echoes the feelings of a large portion of Democratic voters, particularly younger ones.

We’ve divided ourselves into camps. The MAGA camp, the anti-Trump camp. The pro-ICE immigration raids, the anti-immigration raids. … 

There seems to be no common ground any longer, no place to stand where someone isn’t hurling names at you. There seems to be no way for people to calmly discuss issues without the discussion sinking into black-and-white terms. 

We’ve been pushed into these camps as a response to the success of the MAGA movement and its leader. Their successful tactics – using anger, resentment, demonization, the it’s-us-or-them – have been co-opted across the world. 

I appreciated seeing friends and neighbors — and even my state representative! — in the audience, along with members of the Friends of the Southborough Public Library. Public libraries are our gems!

scenes from the natick barnes & noble

In early May, I thoroughly enjoyed a lively discussion about Louie on the Rocks at the Natick Barnes & Noble.

My UMass-Amherst roomie and bestie, Gayle Long Carvalho, showed us her English teacher side by asking insightful and probing questions about Louie’s many themes ranging from generational divisions and understanding the mindset of the lead character as a proxy for MAGA voters, to being the adult child of a parent who isn’t acting in his own best interest and what happens when one spouse in a long marriage dies and leaves behind someone who doesn’t know how to pay the bills.

Gayle was, in two words: rock star.

The lovely crowd boasted friends from Southborough, UMass, and even an MFA student of mine from the Bay Path University MFA creative nonfiction program who I met in the flesh for the very first time. Thanks to all who took the time out of your day to chat with us.

bay path university ‘louie’ book talk

I had a wonderful time speaking via Zoom with Bay Path University’s Kate Whouley and fellow writer/faculty member Anna Mantzaris about recent novels and about writing in general for a Friends of the Hatch Library event.

Included among the attendees were MFA in creative nonfiction students of mine from Bay Path, as well as a dear friend from my Massachusetts hometown, and even a relative from the Philly area.

It was a meaty conversation and no, I didn’t spend most of the time looking like I was casting a Harry Potteresque spell that the still image above might suggest. A review of the video, however, shows me how much I use my hands when I talk.

Here’s the link to the chat.

week of ‘louie’: events in boston & western mass.

Tuesday, March 4, 7 p.m.: At Porter Square Books, 50 Liberty Drive, Boston, MA

In conversation with author Melanie Brooks

RSVP: https://www.portersquarebooks.com/rsvp-attend-our-event-meredith-obrien

Thursday, March 6, 7 p.m.: At Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College Street, South Hadley, MA

In conversation with author Suzanne Strempek Shea

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meredith-obrien-in-person-tickets-1254916221199?aff=oddtdtcreator

‘louie’ is launched

In spite of ominous snowy weather outside, I was thrilled that friends, family, and interested readers showed up to Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough, Mass. help me launch Louie on the Rocks into the world.

Fellow UMass-Amherst alum Kevin Koczwara — who once took a media criticism class with me there — asked ample creative and probing questions about political polarization, journalism, and family conflicts.

As I signed copies of books, a number of people shared that they, like the Francis family in Louie, have experienced family angst and division in the Trump era (both the current one and the previous one). I told them I hoped that, as they read the novel, that they feel seen and understood.

author erin somers, ‘we all know a louie …’

Thank you Erin Somers — author of the darkly humorous Stay Up with Hugo Best (pick it up, you’ll thank me) — for your gracious words about Louie on the Rocks:

“Louie on the Rocks perfectly captures our divisive era. We all know a Louie–someone who has been changed indelibly by the last several years of politics. O’Brien writes him, and his devastated family, with precision, humor, and grace.”

‘louie on the rocks’ is a sheknows.com ‘must-read’

My forthcoming, Massachusetts-set novel, Louie on the Rocks (Feb. 4) is a 2025 @sheknows must-read:

“Life is messy, but family and politics are even messier. [The MAGA dad Louie and his progressive daughter Lulu] must confront their differences and find a way to heal—or risk letting their fractured relationship become their ultimate undoing.”

Read the full review here.

Preorder: https://bookshop.org/p/books/louie-on-the-rocks-meredith-o-brien/21562828?ean=9781684632909

two new books in 2025

While I’ve already announced the upcoming February release of my second novel — Louie on the Rocks, a dark comedy set in central Massachusetts about a dysfunctional family influenced by Trump era politics, circa 2019 — I can now proudly announce my second 2025 book.

Uncomfortably Numb 2: An Anthology for Newly-Diagnosed MS Patients is slated for publication in May 2025 by Wyatt-MacKenzie, which published my 2020 medical memoir, Uncomfortably Numb, about the life-altering impact of my MS diagnosis.

This nonfiction book will feature the stories of MS patients at varying stages of the incurable autoimmune disease of the brain and spinal cord, and of MS advocates who work to better the world for multiple sclerosis patients. Additionally, I share new stories about how I have morphed from being a stunned, newly-diagnosed patient to an MS Activist who lobbies state and federal lawmakers on behalf of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

It’ll be quite the tonal shift to move from promoting a dark comedy about an alcoholic MAGA dad squaring off against his progressive, bookseller daughter just weeks after the presidential inauguration, to discussing the experiences of MS patients. I hope you’ll join me on what promises to be one bizarre ride.