Porter Square Books: Boston Edition and GrubStreet are delighted to present the latest installment of the Grubbie Debut event series, featuring poet Sandy Speers Markwart! Join us for a celebration of her book I Want You To Know on Wednesday, January 29 at Porter Square Books: Boston Edition (50 Liberty Dr. Boston, Ma 02210). Writer Jennifer Crystal will join Speers Markwart in conversation, and the author talk will be followed by a signing line.

The narrative follows Sandy's experiences and those of her two sisters as they deal with an onslaught of tragedy. Jarett's story begins as he watches his family learn of his accident and he comes to terms with his "goneness." He weaves the darkness of his death into the lightness of the life he led growing up on the farm. There is a strong sense of place that Jarett reflects on and longs for, but mostly, there is family. Stories of misery run parallel to stories of a bucolic childhood, connecting the appalling with the appealing, showing the pain of loss and the reasons why leaving is so hard. This is a story that will tug at your heart with its truth.

Sandy Speers Markwart was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada. She would describe her childhood as idyllic. Sandy moved to Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of twenty, but the prairies have always kept a hold on her. Sandy lives in Back Bay, Boston with her yellow Lab. She loves anything artistic and spends her spare time creating stained glass windows, glass fused art, and woodworking. Sandy loves ripping houses apart and putting them back together. She enjoys taking classes at Boston Architectural College and North Bennet Street School. Sandy loves the outdoors (all seasons) and traveling with family and friends.

Jennifer Crystal is a writer, teacher, and consultant who is passionate about the transformative power of personal narrative. She has been teaching non-fiction at GrubStreet since 2015 and is the creator of the Writing to Heal Immersive Program. For more than a decade, she has written about the chronic illness patient experience in a weekly column for The Global Lyme Alliance, which has received mention in The New Yorker and CQ researcher. Her work has appeared in or on Aeon’s Psyche, The Boston Globe, wbur.org, poetryandcovid.com, and many other outlets. Jennifer has also shared her story as part of webinars, podcasts, broadcasts, and anthologies. She holds a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.F.A. from Emerson College and has completed a summer of study at the Bread Loaf School of English and a Workshop in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University.

Grubbie Debut: Sandy Speers Markwart, author of I Want You To Know, in conversation with Jennifer Crystal