Judy Blume, for generations of women, her very name brings up warm memories and feelings of being understood.
Through a 50+ year career and nearly 30 books, Judy has garnered a loyal army of young readers and their older allies. She is a true national treasure.
This month, it was my great pleasure to re-introduce an earlier interview I did with Judy for the Woman on Fire membership. We include an exciting new update with the author at 80.
And for this month’s Book To Live By, I am so pleased to present one of my favorite Judy Blume books:
In the Unlikely Event is one of four novels Judy has written for an adult audience. The riveting tale blends fiction and historical fact, all wrapped in the larger truth of human nature that is a Judy Blume specialty.
The plot centers on three actual plane crashes in Elizabeth, N.J., over three consecutive months during the early 1950s.
The unforgettable characters cope with the horror and uncertainty of random catastrophe amid their day-to-day struggles.
The story is told from multiple viewpoints, but the main character is Miri, a junior-high student.We learn in a postscript that Judy Blume was a student at Hamilton Junior High in Elizabeth when the real-life tragedies occurred.
Besides her own memories of those years, Judy brings impeccably researched details of the events as well as of the daily life and culture of the time. You may find yourself feeling nostalgic for the 1950s, even if you didn’t live through them.
You will surely, once again, be swept away by Judy Blume’s incomparable storytelling.
In the Unlikely Event is available wherever books are sold.
