Set in contemporary New England, Chris Bohjalian’s latest novel unfolds a story of the intricate consequences of domestic violence. Secrets of Eden opens as Alice Hayward’s life ends—but her story begins. Weaving together compelling narratives, Bohjalian examines the inner complexities that mark all of our lives. This haunting literary thriller is a riveting page-turner in which nothing is precisely what it seems.

Chris Bohjalian is the author of twelve novels, including the New York Times bestsellers, Skeletons at the Feast, The Double Bind, Before You Know Kindness, The Law of Similars, and Midwives. Bohjalian won the New England Book Award in 2002, and his novel, Midwives, was an Oprah’s Book Club selection, a Publishers Weekly "Best Book," and a New England Booksellers Association Discovery pick. He has written for a wide variety of magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Reader's Digest, and the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and has been a Sunday columnist for Gannett's Burlington Free Press since 1992. Bohjalian graduated from Amherst College, and lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter.

Don’t miss the Easter Kids Party at Northshire Bookstore, upstairs in the Children’s department.

Celebrate with fun activities for kids ages 4-7. There will be cookie decorating, Easter and Spring stories, and an Easter Egg Hunt. Come wearing your Easter finest and your Easter bonnet to celebrate Spring!

In Doug Stewart’s new book The Boy Who Would Be Shakespeare: A Tale of Forgery and Folley he tells the story of William-Henry Ireland, one of the greatest literary forgers of all time. In 1794, nineteen-year-old William Henry Ireland – an unremarkable lawyer’s apprentice – handed his father a heavily worn and creased sheet of paper purportedly signed by Shakespeare himself. That simple act set in motion a series of events including the falsification of “Shakespeare’s” letters, poetry, and ultimately a play believed to be his lost masterpiece (but actually an original work by Ireland) that went on to be staged with much fanfare at London’s prestigious Drury Lane Theatre. Intended to elicit pride from his emotionally-distant father, and perhaps launch his own career, Ireland’s hoax eventually ruined his reputation, brought shame to his father, and brought down some of England’s most esteemed men of letters.

Doug Stewart is a freelance journalist who writes frequently about history and the arts for Smithsonian magazine. His articles have also appeared in Time and Discover. He lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Come join a fun and lively debate with the Armchair Philosophers - a discussion group for life's big questions. New to Manchester, VT from Portsmouth, NH Mary Ellen Dunham was part of an informal, intellectual discussion group that she thought would be perfect for the Northshire Bookstore community. Last month the group talked about the impact of technology on the world and our lives. This month, Elizabeth Aldrich will moderate -- the topic to be announced.

This is an opportunity for individuals to gather together with other thoughtful-minded people to discuss life’s quandaries in a friendly and informal environment. Including people of different ages and backgrounds and ranging in topics from art and God to technology and drugs, this group will question what it means to be human and live the examined life. The topics for discussion will be decided by the participants and – as the questions fly – participants and the bookstore will find readings and books that might help the pursuit of wisdom. There is no need for a background in philosophy, just a curious and inquiring mind. Come join us at the Northshire Bookstore to see what kinds of interesting conversations we can stir up!

Vermont author and farmer Ben Hewitt presents his new book The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food. Like many rural communities throughout the United States, Hardwick, VT, was built on an industry that packed up its bags and left long ago. With a population of 3,200, a median income 25% below the state average and an unemployment rate 40% higher, the town suffered from a depressed economy for nearly a century.

The Town That Food Saved chronicles a group of (mostly) young farmers and entrepreneurs who embarked on a quest to create the most comprehensive, functional and vibrant local food system in North America – bringing jobs to a region that desperately needed them and finding inventive ways to make a living off the Vermont farmland. Hewitt tells the remarkable story of one town’s transformation and what these changes might mean for the rest of us.

Ben Hewitt was born in northwestern Vermont; his father was a poet and his mother worked on a nearby dairy farm. He now lives with his wife and two sons on a diversified, 40-acre farm in Vermont. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers.

Andrea Raynor has seen many wonders of the human spirit in her years as a hospice chaplain. In her new collection of personal essays The Voice That Calls You Home: Inspiration for Life’s Journeys Raynor shares some of her most poignant experiences of helping to bring peace to those who are about to cross over, relating these moments to her own life as a daughter, wife, mother of two children, and member of a diverse spiritual community. At times humorous, heartbreaking, and uplifting The Voice That Calls You Home is a positive, affirming collection of essays that teaches how to understand and accept life’s darkest hours.

Andrea Raynor, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, is a United Methodist minister, a chaplain, and a cancer survivor. She served as the Chaplain to the Jansen Memorial Hospice in Tuckahoe, New York for over ten years, has worked with the homeless in NYC and Boston, and was a pastor to churches in NY, CT, and MA. In the aftermath of September 11th, she served as a chaplain to the morgue at Ground Zero, offering blessings over remains and support to the many workers there. She currently lives with her family in Westchester, New York, where she is the Chaplain to the Rye Fire Department.

Local Vermont and award-winning sculptor Pat Musick will present her new book No New Thing Under the Sun: One Artist’s Chosen Journey. Musick’s new book chronicles her artistic development over the last 40 years. Her work has progressed from an expressionistic, figurative style to abstract work with wood, steel and stone, reflecting harmony and peace in the environment. Including essays and photographs documenting her drawings, paintings, and sculpture this new book follows Musick as she moves from two to three dimensional considerations and reveals the creative process of one artist.

Pat Musick’s work is in the permanent collections of 48 museums and public spaces in the United States. She has an MA and PhD from Cornell University, has taught at the University level, and has written three books, including Stone Songs on the Trail of Tears: The Journey of an Installation.

Local Vermont author and cheesemaker Angela Miller will present her new memoir Hay Fever: Out of the Office and Into the Barnyard. Miller’s new book tells the inspiring, informative, and funny story about changing your life when you're already more than halfway through it. After Miller’s marriage became strained, her job too stressful, and the social whirl on Shelter Island unsatisfying, she and her husband decided to buy Consider Bardwell Farm in Vermont and become cheesemakers (all while maintaining their New York jobs and lives). But what started as a part time “project” turned into a full-blown obsession and culinary passion that not only changed their lives forever, but also resulted in some of America’s best cheeses, prestigious awards, and media fame. Hay Fever is an inspiring and entertaining memoir that will whet the appetite of food lovers and would-be farmers from coast to coast, and includes recipes from the author and top food personalities like Mark Bittman and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Angela Miller is a prominent literary agent in New York City. Miller and her farm have been written up in the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Daily News, Travel and Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Martha Stewart Living, and many other national publications. Consider Bardwell cheeses are featured on the menus of some of the finest restaurants in the country, including The French Laundry, Per Se, Daniel, and Jean Georges.