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Speech at The United Nations on April 4, 2023
WATCH: Jessica Pearce Rotondi, author of What We Inherit and Trustee and Chair, Legacies Library at Legacies of War addresses the United Nations on April 4, 2023.
"What I want my boys to know is something that my family has spent generations trying to understand: You cannot allow secrets or shame about the past to prevent you from doing the right thing in the present. As an American, I'm proud the the U.S. is the largest funder of global demining efforts. But I also know that cleaning up is simply not enough. We need to take bold action and ban landmines and cluster bombs from our arsenal to prevent future atrocities."
book Launch With Kate Bolick at The Newburyport Literary Festival, April 25, 2020
Jessica Pearce Rotondi talks to Kate Bolick, bestselling author of “Spinster,” about home, loss, and hope at the Newburyport Literary Festival on April 25, 2020. Over 10,000 people have watched her online readings at bookstores and festivals around the world—a number that reflects how the pandemic is shifting the ways readers and writers connect.
Recent Events
The United Nations: International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
I spoke at the United Nations in New York City on April 4, 2023 as part of the programming for the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. I shared how the use of these weapons has impacted my own family and called for the United States to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions. Watch the full lineup with speakers including U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, Former Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy, and war photographer Giles Duley at the link below.
Legacies of War & The Sigur Center Present “The United States, Southeast Asia, and Historical Memory”
AWP 2022 Presenter: “Making the Personal Public: Airing Secrets in Memoir.”
3/26/22 @ 9 AM
In memoir, how do we balance telling the story we need to tell with the discomfort of exposing secrets that can cause harm—especially to those we love? How do we write despite the possible fallout? Five acclaimed memoirists—Joanna Rakoff (My Salinger Year), Maya Shanbhag Lang (What We Carry), Leslie Gray Streeter (Black Widow), and Julie Metz (Eva and Eve)— tackle this question through their own candid explorations of family, romantic partners, and careers, exploring what it means to make the personal public. Attendees will come away with tools to dig deep into the truths they must tell.
Saturday, March 26, 2022 from 9-10:15 AM. Pennsylvania Convention Center room 119AB.
NYPL Morris Park Branch 10/19 @ 11 AM
I’m thrilled to return to the New York Public Library to share my family’s story of hope with Morris Park patrons. This digital event is free and open to all.
Interview with Mark Wales, Author & Star of “Survivor”
Mark Wales is a former special operations team commander in the SAS, a father, a Wharton grad, and a star of "Survivor Australia." I loved speaking with him (and special guest star Harry!) about family, war, and finding peace as he launches his debut, "SURVIVOR: Life in the SAS.”
2/16 @ 6 PM: Legacies Library Launch
What We Inherit is the inaugural book in the Legacies Library, a collection of works about the U.S. bombing of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam organized by Legacies of War.
Legacies of War is a tireless advocate and source of funding for the removal of bombs in Laos. At the current rate, it will take at least 100 years to arrive at a day when families won't have to worry that their children will be killed from unexploded ordnance left over from a CIA-led war fought over 40 years ago. We can change that.
I loved speaking with Legacies Executive Director Sera Koulabdara about the impact of the U.S. bombing of Laos and how we might find a way forward.
1/14 @ 7 PM: Brown Club of New York
The Brown Club in New York and Brown Women's Network invite you to a virtual conversation with author Jessica Pearce Rotondi ‘07 and Brown University Professor Beth Taylor MA ’84, PhD ’89. Their bond goes back to campus, where Jessica created an oral history of World War II at Brown, a project overseen by Dr. Taylor. It was instrumental in Jessica’s decision to tackle something personal and historical, and she credits her former professor with inspiring her to write What We Inherit.
Past Events
4/2: IG LIVE With Zibby Owens
Zibby Owens has been featured in The New York Times and CBS Sunday Morning for her books coverage. I sat down with her in quarantine to talk books, how we’re staying sane in lockdown, and the unusual way we first met. Follow @JessicaRotondi & @ZibbyOwens and watch the IGTV segment below!
4/18: Boston Book Fanatic Takeover
I’ll be taking over @BostonBookFanatic’s Instagram account on Saturday, 4/18 answering your questions about the book, going behind the scenes of my trip to Laos, and prepping for that night’s reading at the Les Bleus Salon! Check out her IG stories for more.
4/18: Les Bleus Literary Salon with min jin lee
I’ll read alongside Min Jin Lee (Pachinko), Emma Eisenberg (The Third Rainbow Girl), Megan Giddings (Lakewood) and Andrew Altschul (Gringa). Follow @LesBleusLiterarySalon on Instagram or email LesBleusNYC@gmail.com to catch the next reading. They take place every Saturday via Zoom.
4/20: Spivey’s Book Club Takeover
I joined Ashley Spivey, Bachelorette star and founder of @SpiveysBookClub on Instagram on 4/20—the eve of my book’s birthday—to share exclusive, behind-the-scenes photos of my trip to Laos in pursuit of a family secret. I answered reader questions and one lucky winner got a FREE copy of What We Inherit.
4/21: Strand Bookstore Reading
I moved to New York when I was 21 to work in book publishing. I could barely afford to-go coffee, but I'd go to readings almost every night. I loved being surrounded by old books and my literary heroes in The Strand's Rare Book Room. I was looking forward to launching my own book, #WhatWeInherit, with Kate Bolick in that same room at Strand Book Store, a magical place that has meant so much to me as a reader and as a New Yorker.
When The Strand had to close its doors and the reading was cancelled due to COVID-19, I was sad for New York and the bookstore's brilliant staff. I resigned myself to not being able to share my family's story. Then The Strand reached out and let me broadcast a reading across their powerful digital channels. The Strand posted a video of me reading from “What We Inherit” on their Instagram page @StrandBookStore https://bit.ly/StrandReading and on their Facebook page here.
4/21: A Mighty Blaze
I’ll read with A Mighty Blaze, a group of writers who banded together to spread the word about books cancelled by Corona.
Instagram @AMightyBlaze
Twitter @AMightyBlaze
4/23: Janklow & Nesbit TV With Ryan Chapman
I’ll went live with Ryan Chapman, author of Riots I Have Known, on @JanklowNesbit’s Instagram stories to share resources for authors with books coming out in a pandemic. We talked to agents, editors, authors and booksellers on what they’re doing to support books now… and how we’re all staying sane in quarantine.
4/25: Newburyport Literary Festival With Kate Bolick
I spoke to Kate Bolick, New York Times bestselling author of Spinster, about home, loss, and hope at the Newburyport Literary Festival on April 25, 2020. Over 200 people joined live and the video has since been viewed over 2,000 times—a number that reflects how the pandemic is shifting the ways readers and writers connect.
4/26: An Author a Day (Berlin)
I broadcast LIVE with the House of Beautiful Business, located in Berlin, as part of their Living Room Sessions. There was live music, readings, and conversations about the arts with photographer and author Beowulf Sheehan, creator of "An Author A Day." I was joined by Maya Lang, author of What We Carry, and Stephen Kiernan, author of Universe of Two. The event was hosted by Megan Hustad and Monika Jiang.
4/30-5/5: Author in Residence at Chicago Review of Books
As the author in residence at @ChicagoRevBooks, I shared behind-the-scenes photos of my trip to Laos and research into declassified documents and the CIA. Because my in-person Chicago event was cancelled due to COVID-19, I read LIVE and answered reader questions.
5/6: Nerd Jeopardy With Anna Solomon & Surprise Guest Andrew Sean Greer
I joined Anna Solomon, author of GMA Book Club pick The Book of V, as a special guest on Ryan Chapman’s Nerd Jeopardy, a literary night of puns, cocktails, and bookish trivia brought to you by Literary Hub.
5/10:
Weekend of Words,“Writing Hybrids” (SF)
When I first wrote “What We Inherit,” I was told that it couldn’t be a memoir and reported story of war at once. I sat down with my book’s editor and the Executive Editor of Unnamed Press, Olivia Taylor Smith, to talk about how to write hybrids and creative nonfiction. I shared how I transformed CIA documents & letters into a narrative Sebastian Junger says is "written like a spy novel & delivered like a whistleblower account of government deception." We shared advice on how to structure multiple points of view and how to bring primary documents to life.
5/14: Together-Remotely (Australia)
I met Caro when she was Director of the PEN World Voices Festival in New York City, and she’s run literary festivals around the world including the Festival des Écrivains du Monde in Paris and the Sydney Writers’ Festival. I was delighted to join her LIVE from Australia as we kicked off Together-Remotely, a once-in-a-lifetime international literary experience!
5/27: “Secrets” With New York Writers Workshop
I joined Esther Amini, author of Concealed, and Elizabeth Kadetsky, author of The Memory Eaters, to talk about our latest books, which all deal with secrets. Hosted by Christina Chiu. Sign up link goes live a week before the event!
5/28: Vroman’s Bookstore
I was honored to read from “What We Inherit” for the iconic Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena.
5/31 @ 11 AM: An Inheritance of Grief: Memory, Serendipity, and the Legacy of Two Fallen Soldiers
Historian Bethany Groff Dorau and journalist Jessica Pearce Rotondi, both from West Newbury, share the experience of deep engagement with fallen soldiers whose loss haunted and fractured families for generations. For Dorau, author of “A Newburyport Marine,” a chance encounter led to the discovery of intimate letters, personal diaries, photographs and military records, held by people across the world who had not forgotten Eben Bradbury, a young Marine killed in the bloody battle of Belleau Wood in 1918. For Rotondi, author of "What We Inherit: A Secret War and a Family's Search for Answers," boxes of letters, declassified CIA reports, and newspaper clippings discovered after her mother’s death led her deep into the mystery surrounding the death of her uncle Jack during the CIA-led “Secret War” in Laos in 1972. Join these two for a lively chat about memory, mystery, and how these deaths changed everything for those left behind.
Memoir Monday, 6/15/20
Memoir Monday is a quarterly reading series co-curated by Catapult, Longreads, Granta, Guernica, Narratively, and The Rumpus. I was honored to read alongside Meredith Talusan, Matt Ortile, and Marcia Trahan on June 16th. The What We Inherit reading begins at 27:22 in the video published by The Rumpus, which you can watch by clicking the button below.
6/16: Chicago’s City Lit Books
I spoke about nonfiction writing, legacy, and What We Inherit with Sarah Blakley-Cartwright, publishing director of the Chicago Review of Books, associate editor of A Public Space, and author of New York Times bestseller Red Riding Hood, which was made into a film produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.
San Francisco’s Booksmith With Lauren Francis-Sharma, 7/7 @ 2 PM EST
I'll be in conversation with Lauren Francis-Sharma, author of "Book of the Little Axe" and assistant director of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, on Tuesday, July 14th at 11 AM PST/2 PM EST on Facebook Live, hosted by The Booksmith.
About Lockdown Lit @ Lunch: Booksmith and The Bindery, in partnership with Zyzzyva, present Lockdown Lit @ Lunch, a weekly salon. Lockdown Literature is a group of authors with books published during the coronavirus pandemic who have banded together to support one another.
9/30 @ 4 PM: American Society of Journalists and Authors
I taught a course to ASJA members called “Writing Hybrids: How to Meld History With Memoir.” It covered how to bring primary documents to life and build a structure that balances a strong, personal voice with the right historical details.
10/18 @ 11:15 AM:
Brattleboro Literary Festival, “Uncovering the Past”
Families are complicated and the people you are closest to are often the ones you understand the least. In the wake of her mother’s death, Jessica Pearce Rotondi, author of What We Inherit, 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. Maya Shanbhag Lang grew up idolizing her mother, an accomplished physician who immigrated to the United States from India and completed her residency, all while raising her children and keeping a traditional Indian home. She had always been a source of support—until Maya became a mother herself. Then, the parent who had once been so attentive became distant. Struggling to understand this abrupt change, Maya learns that her mother is living with Alzheimer’s. Stepping in to care for her mother, she comes to realize that despite their closeness, she never really knew her mother. What We Carry is the story of a daughter and her mother, of lies and truths, of receiving and giving care—and how we cannot grow up until we fully understand the people who raised us.
“You, Me, and History”: Honors Program Lecture at Misericordia University
I joined author Deni Ellis-Béchard to address university faculty, students, and members of the Misericordia community about how personal narratives contribute to our understanding of history.
11/17 @ 7 PM: Brown Club of San Francisco
What We Inherit is the Brown Club of San Francisco’s September book club pick! Tune in at 7 PM PST for a conversation about writing war and investigative journalism. This event is free and open to everyone, not just Brown graduates.
I’ll be joined by Akemi Johnson ('04), author of Night in the American Village, a vivid look at the enduring wounds of U.S.-Japanese history in Okinawa. A former Fulbright scholar to Japan, Akemi has contributed to The Nation, NPR’s All Things Considered and Code Switch, Travel + Leisure, Anthony Bourdain's Explore Parts Unknown, and other publications.
12/9 @ 7 PM: Brooklyn Public Library
I’m thrilled to be speaking at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Gerritsen Beach branch this December. Event details to come!
in-person Events Postponed Due to COVID-19
I was so looking forward to meeting readers and can’t wait to do so when it is safe to gather again. We’ll have to so much to celebrate then. All original events from the 11-city tour for What We Inherit can be seen in the graphic above. Postponed events are listed below.
POSTPONED: Milford, PA
My mother grew up in the small town of Milford, PA, and half of the book is set here. There are monuments to Jack in the local high school and in local parks, so it will be a very special homecoming for the book and Jack’s friends and family.
POSTPONED: West Newbury, MA Town Hall
Join me in my hometown of West Newbury, MA—the location of the first chapter of What We Inherit—for a book reading and signing. I discovered many of my favorite authors at the G.A.R. Memorial Library, which is why I’m thrilled that this reading is brought to you by the library and the Pentucket Arts Foundation.