Words Alive is thrilled to welcome bestselling author Luis Alberto Urrea as he discusses his new novel, Good Night, Irene, in conversation with Dr. Seth Lerer. Participation options include:
- In Person. Tickets are limited for the luncheon and discussion with the author.
- Virtual. Virtual tickets include a copy of the book delivered to your home and a recording of the discussion to view at your leisure.
In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiancé in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. She makes fast friends in training with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit. Together they are part of an elite group of women, nicknamed Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front line, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle.
After D-Day, these two intrepid friends join the Allied soldiers streaming into France. Their time in Europe will see them embroiled in danger, from the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of Buchenwald. Through her friendship with Dorothy, and a love affair with a courageous American fighter pilot named Hans, Irene learns to trust again. Her most fervent hope, which becomes more precarious by the day, is for all three of them to survive the war intact.
Taking as inspiration his mother's own Red Cross service, Luis Alberto Urrea has delivered an overlooked story of women's heroism in World War II. With its affecting and uplifting portrait of friendship and valor in harrowing circumstances, Good Night, Irene powerfully demonstrates yet again that Urrea's "gifts as a storyteller are prodigious" (NPR).
Dr. Seth Lerer is a scholar, teacher, and public lecturer who specializes in the history of English literature and the English language. He is a Distinguished Professor of Literature at University of California, San Diego, where he served as the Dean of Arts and Humanities from 2009 to 2014.
