GREENWICH — A crowd of book lovers gathered in the Berkley Theater at Greenwich Library to hear from Xochitl Gonzalez, author of 2022’s Greenwich Reads Together selection “Olga Dies Dreaming.”
Gonzalez spoke about her semi-autobiographical debut novel with Alicia Menendez, anchor of MSNBC’s “American Voices with Alicia Menendez,” at the Tuesday evening event.
In the Greenwich Reads Together event, organized in part by the Friends of the Greenwich Library, book fans throughout the town are united in reading and discussing one book. The event is held annually and culminates with a talk with the author of the selected book.
At the event, Gonzalez spoke about her own childhood and how it differed from the book as well as about her writing process and how she became a debut novelist in her 40s when the book was sold to a publisher at auction.
The bestselling “Olga Dies Dreaming,” which was published in January 2022, is about resilience and diaspora that presses readers to examine their ambitions and at what cost pursuing an American success story may come, according to organizers with Greenwich Reads Together.
According to the library, Gonzalez’s novel follows adult siblings Olga and Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo. Prieto is a popular, closeted congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers. Despite their glittery public lives, things are far less rosy behind closed doors.
Set in New York City after the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico’s history, “Olga Dies Dreaming” is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife and the American dream ― all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.
Gonzalez, a native Brooklynite, fictionalized parts of her own biography for her debut novel, including the concepts of an absent, activist mother and her own career as a high-end wedding planner.
Menendez, who served as the moderator, is the creator and host of the podcast “Latina to Latina” and wrote the 2019 book “The Likeability Trap.”
A video of the event is posted at the Greenwich Library’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBmq_vUC72Y&t=11s.
Greenwich student enrolls at SUNY Delhi
Daniel Corn from Greenwich has enrolled at SUNY Delhi beginning August 2022.
Corn is pursuing a degree in business and technology management at the college, which is located in Delhi, N.Y.
Lehigh welcomes new students from town
Some 1,200-plus members have enrolled at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. for the Class of 2026.
The incoming class represents an accomplished, diverse group of students who represent 44 U.S. states and territories and 32 countries, including a number from Greenwich.
The local students who are newly enrolled at Lehigh are William Baxter, Tommy Healey, Tom Widdowson, Jason Sodokoff, Colby Goldstein, Chris Gonzalez, Alexandra Cavin, and Kandi Deleg, all of Greenwich.
Additional new local students at Lehigh are Caroline Deschamps of Old Greenwich;Alastair Wilson and Isaiah Sohn, both of Riverside; and William Hollander and Ava Rogers, both of Cos Cob.
Local student graduates from Ole Miss
Edward Aquilino of Greenwich is among the more than 1,000 students who graduated from the University of Mississippi in August.
Aquilino, who is an economics major, received a bachelor of business administration degree in the School of Business Administration at Ole Miss.
August 2022 graduates were invited to walk across the stage at the University of Mississippi 2022 Commencement exercises, which were held May 4 to May 8.
Greenwich students attend Hamilton College
A number of local residents recently matriculated at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., as members of the Class of 2026.
The new local students are Lorenzo Gunningham of Greenwich, a graduate of Brunswick School; Margot Delany of Cos Cob, a graduate of Greenwich High School; Matthew Hake of Greenwich, a graduate of Greenwich High School; and Emerson Robinson of Greenwich, a graduate of Greenwich High School.
Selected from a pool of 9,899 applicants, they join a community of about 2,000 undergraduate students.
Celebrating the birth of a baby, an engagement or a wedding; a high school or college graduation; or an honor at work or through volunteering? Send information on celebrations involving Greenwich people or places to [email protected].