Events this week: Susan Damgard O'Brien and Dave Wall, plus info about next Monday's evening with Ron Faiola and Kyle Cherek

Here's what's happening at Boswell this week.

Tuesday, August 2, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Susan Damgard O'Brien, author of Butterfly Net

Join us for an evening with MATC's Susan Damgard O'Brien, who uses her background in psychology to bring to life a riveting tale of romantic suspense, centered on a college student who falls in love with her drug lord captor.

A Northern Wisconsin native, UWM graduate and long-time Milwaukeean, Susan Damgard O’Brien has taught college level psychology for the past 22 years. Her background along with frequent visits to Peru, have influenced Susan’s passion for writing. In addition to Butterfly Net, she has published several personal and psychological essays, and short stories.

Thursday, August 4, 6:30 pm, at the Greenfield Public Library, 5310 W Layton Ave:
Dick Wall, discussing Carol Wall's Mr. Owita's Guide to Gardening: How I Learned the Unexpected Joy of a Green Thumb and an Open Heart

Carol Wall is a woman both resentful of cancer diagnosis and constantly worried about her health before meeting Giles Owita, a doctor of philosophy of horticulture in his native Kenya who works a variety of jobs when he can't get a teaching position. Mr Owita becomes her gardener and her “friend of virtue,” Aristotle’s phrase for the highest order of friendship, in which the only design is devotion. Carol was diagnosed with breast cancer before she met Mr. Owita and is diagnosed again during their friendship. Over the months which turn into years, Mr. Owita’s calm resolve quenches Carol’s panic. He teaches her not to let illness define her, and she receives a new concept of freedom. Ironically, unknown to Carol until much later, Mr. Owita is battling his own frightening disease.

*Here's a story about Carol Wall and her legacy in the Richmond Times Dispatch.

Carol F. Wall (1951 – 2014) taught high school English in both public and private schools in Tennessee and Virginia. Her articles and essays centering on family life were published in Southern Living Magazine and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wall was active in the P.E.O. Sisterhood, a philanthropic educational organization that boasts 250,000 members worldwide and provides college scholarships for women. She is survived by her husband Dick Wall, three grown children, and four grandchildren.

The Greenfield Public Library is just blocks from the 60th Street exit of I-894.

Monday, August 8, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Ron Faiola, author of Wisconsin Supper Clubs: Another Round, in conversation with Kyle Cherek, host of Wisconsin Foodie

Ron Faiola gives readers a peek inside 50 additional clubs from across the Badger State, documenting some of the most exceptional and long-lived restaurants that embrace the decades-old supper club tradition. These are largely family-owned establishments that believe in old-fashioned hospitality, slow-paced dining, and good scratch cooking. In this guide, readers will find interviews with supper club proprietors and customers as well as a bounty of photographs of classic dishes, club interiors, and other scenes from Faiola’s extensive travels.

Listen to Ron Faiola talk about the book with Joy Cardin on Wisconsin Public Radio.

Milwaukee-based Ron Faiola is an author and filmmaker who has produced and directed numerous critically acclaimed documentaries. He is the president and founder of Push Button Gadget Inc., which has been specializing in audio visual and business theater production for nearly 20 years.

Kyle Cherek is host of the Emmy-nominated television show Wisconsin Foodie, currently filming its ninth season on PBS and broadcasting primetime to over 8.2 million households. He sees the Midwest as a font of history, craftsmanship, and artisanal dispositions; all of which are continually pushing national culinary and sustainability trends forward. Kyle has made regular appearances on The Travel Channel and Food Network, and is a frequent media contributor to NPR, CBS, and NBC. His video web series, Chef Talk with Kyle Cherek, features candid, forthright, and often amusing conversations with some of America’s most engaging chefs.