FLORENCE—John Sheirer of Florence, a prolific author of fiction and memoir, has published a new collection of linked short fiction, “Stumbling Through Adulthood,” and he will launch the book at Forbes Library in Northampton on Tuesday, August 10 at 6 p.m.

The rain date for the free and public event is Thursday, August 12, same time. 

“Stumbling Through Adulthood” carries the Janice Beetle Books imprint and is available on Amazon.

The book is a collection of stand-alone stories with characters who are linked, meaning they reappear like subtle surprises and rekindled connections. The book shines a light on Sheirer’s compassionate and often quirky characters and their intimate experiences, all with a backdrop that is clearly modern-day America and its recent, volatile culture.

Readers watch some protagonists grow through various stages of life and gain depth and texture as they age, mature, and adapt. The stories offer poignant moments, deft turns of phrase, and insight into the human mind and spirit, and they bring with them realism, failure and triumph in life, work, relationships, ethical conundrums, and politics.

Sheirer has taught writing and communications at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Connecticut, for 28 years. He is also a longtime columnist for the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Learn more at JohnSheirer.com.

Sheirer is the author of dozens of titles that cross many genres. “Growing Up Mostly Normal in the Middle of Nowhere,” is John’s memoir on growing up in Central Pennsylvania on a farm. “Loop Year,” focuses on John’s experiences in hiking the same trail for an entire year, and he describes the work as an environmental and anthropological study. 

In his Gazette column, John writes about politics and framed three books around that theme, including 2020’s “Positively Toward the Negative,” a collection of his recent Gazette columns. The Libby books, for children and adults, include “I Like Sticks!” and “The Alpha Dog Alphabet.”

John’s recent fiction includes “Too Wild: Flash Fiction,” a collection of very short stories; “Uncorrected,” a short suspense novel on a prison escape; and “Fever Cabin,” the fictionalized journal of a man isolating himself during the pandemic.

Here’s what some early reviewers have had to say about Stumbling Through Adulthood:

“A clever, witty, and intoxicating collection that will leave readers staggering with delight,” Jacob M. Appel, author of “Einstein’s Beach House.”

“John Sheirer is a master storyteller,” Susanne Davis, author of “The Appointed Hour.”

“John Sheirer creates intense and masterful portraits of his widely varied characters’ deeply personal worlds,” Sherri VandenAkker, writer, director, producer of “My Name Was Bette: The Life and Death of an Alcoholic.”

The post Prolific Valley Author to Launch New Collection appeared first on Beetle Press.

EAST LONGMEADOW—Glenmeadow will present “Writing Your Life: An Author’s Tips on Crafting a Memoir” on Tuesday, May 23 from 10 a.m.-noon.

Author John Sheirer will talk about his creative writing life and his work leading English and communications courses at Asnuntuck Community College, and he’ll read from his memoirs, Loop Year and Growing up Mostly Normal in the Middle of Nowhere. Sheirer will also offer participants guidance on writing a memoir and will lead them in a writing exercise or two, using prompts he developed on his own and features in his book What’s the Story?

Sheirer has taught at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Connecticut, for 24 years. He is the author of a dozen books, including several works for children featuring his dog Libby.

The program will be offered by Glenmeadow at Bay Path University on its East Campus in the Philip H. Ryan Health Science Center, Room 222. The center is at 1 Denslow Road.

The program is free, but seating is limited, and registration is required; call (413) 567-7800 or email learning@glenmeadow.org. Visit glenmeadow.org/events for more information.

Glenmeadow Learning is one of many free programs Glenmeadow offers to members of the wider community. And these programs represent only one facet of the life plan community’s mission to serve seniors across the region and to operate as a socially accountable organization.

Established in 1884, Glenmeadow is a nonprofit, accredited continuing care retirement community; it provides independent and assisted living at its campus at 24 Tabor Crossing in Longmeadow and expanded Glenmeadow at Home services throughout greater Springfield.

To learn more about Glenmeadow and its history and offerings, visit www.glenmeadow.org.

About Glenmeadow

In the 1800s, elderly individuals without family or means were sent to live at what was called “the poor farm.”  In 1884, a group of civic leaders raised funds among themselves and other area families and purchased a house on Main Street in Springfield’s south end. Quickly outgrowing that house, land was purchased on the corner of Chestnut and Carew streets, where a new home was constructed and opened in 1900.  In 1960, the name was changed to Chestnut Knoll, and in 1992, it began to admit men.

In 1993, the organization purchased a 23-acre parcel in Longmeadow to build a new community that would provide both independent living and assisted living in one building with various common areas.  This was a new concept known as a continuing care retirement community.  Existing residents from the old Chestnut Knoll property were moved to the new campus in 1997.  Shortly after the move, the board voted to change its legal name to Glenmeadow to coincide with the name being used by the developer of the property.

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