Wednesday, October 23, 2024, 7:00 pm via Zoom
Local Author Jessica Pearce Rotondi, discusses her memoir "What We Inherit" with the Pennington Public Library.
A Secret War And A Family’s Search For Answers…
In the wake of her mother’s death, Jessica Pearce Rotondi uncovers boxes of letters, declassified CIA reports, and newspaper clippings that bring to light a family ghost: her uncle Jack, who disappeared during the CIA-led “Secret War” in Laos in 1972. The letters lead her across Southeast Asia in search of the truth that has eluded her family for decades. What she discovers takes her closer to the mother she lost and the mysteries of a secret war that changed the rules of engagement forever.
About the Author
Jessica Pearce Rotondi is the author of What We Inherit: A Secret War and a Family’s Search for Answers, the true story of her family’s 36-year search to bring a missing son home from the CIA-led war in Laos. Salman Rushdie called it “exceptional” and O, The Oprah Magazine named it a best book of summer 2020.
Her work has been published by The History Channel, Reader’s Digest (cover story), The Boston Globe, Refinery29, Salon, and Vogue, and featured by NBC and CNN. She is Chair of Legacies Library at Legacies of War and the recipient of a 2024 Poet & Author Fellowship from The Martha’s Vineyard Creative Writing Institute. She has studied at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Sirenland, and Lighthouse Writers workshop. Jessica grew up in New England and is a graduate of Brown University. She lives outside of New York City with her partner and two young sons and is currently at work on her debut novel about the ripple effects of a flood on a close-knit island community.