Tuesday, Jul 05, 2022 5:30 PM

Location:
Manuel's Tavern
602 North Highland Avenue, NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30307

In this luminous tale of friendship, a troubled woman explores whether a road trip across America with a gay friend will help put her life back together.

A Cappella Books welcomes debut novelist Susan O'Dell Underwood to Manuel’s Tavern to celebrate the release of her new book, “Genesis Road.” 

This event is free and open to the public, and copies of the book will be available for purchase.   

About the Book

Glenna Daniels faces a midlife cul-de-sac. She bears a recent miscarriage and third divorce the way her Appalachian parents taught her to cope with tragedy—in stoic secrecy. She quits her social work position in Knoxville and runs away from home at the age of thirty-six, heading west with childhood friend, Carey, a gay professor in Atlanta. During their years in school, Glenna protected him from bullies. Now Carey is her savvy guide as she tries to heal her fractured life. Through the wilds of America Glenna grapples with the past and reconciles a way back home.

About the Author

Susan O’Dell Underwood grew up in Bristol, Tennessee, the daughter and granddaughter of public-school teachers who also farmed. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and holds a PhD in English from Florida State University. She directs the creative writing program at Carson-Newman University, where her husband, artist David Underwood, also teaches. Besides two chapbooks, she has one full-length collection of poetry, “The Book of Awe” (Iris Press), and her poems, nonfiction, and stories are published in many journals and anthologies, including Oxford American, Ecotone, Bellevue Literary Review, Still: The Journal, and A Literary Field Guide to Southern Appalachia.