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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T150000
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SUMMARY:Book Launch Celebrating Betsy Smith\, author of Sign of a Loon
DESCRIPTION:Join us to celebrate the launch of Sign of a Loon\, the debut novelette of local author and dear friend of The Mount\, Betsy Smith. For this special event\, Smith will be joined by Tom Hoffman of the Washington Historic Commission and Amy Lafave\, the Lenox Library’s Local History Librarian. \nDuring the COVID lockdown\, Smith was granted a rare opportunity to write at The Mount. The mansion was shuttered and empty—the perfect setting for inspiration. Wearing her great-grandmother’s wedding ring around her neck as a talisman\, Smith wandered the halls of what felt like a giant dollhouse\, drawing on Wharton’s surroundings\, writings\, and the spirits said to inhabit The Mount. The result was Sign of a Loon\, a literary exploration of her ancestral history—both real and imagined—ultimately\, the story she sought to find. \n“A beautiful\, evocative\, and deeply personal account of love\, loss\, and forgiveness. By interweaving her family’s fascinating history with her own memories and experiences\, M. Betsy Smith takes us along her fantastic journey of searching for answers\, creating connections\, and—ultimately—finding peace.” – Nynke Dorhout \n  \nIMPORTANT EVENT INFORMATION: \n\nThis event takes place in The Mount’s Stable Auditorium\, a 140-seat\, climate-controlled\, indoor venue adjacent to the parking lot.\nSeating for all programs at The Mount is first-come\, first-served. If you have seating preferences\, we recommend arriving fifteen minutes early.\nAccessible seating is available. To discuss arrangements\, please contact us by phone: 413-551-5111 x5; or email: programs@edithwharton.org. For more information about accessibility\, review The Mount’s accessibility webpage.\nA book signing will follow this talk.\nQuestions? Email: programs@edithwharton.org; or phone: 413-551-5111 x2\n\n  \n\n  \nM. Betsy Smith was born and raised in Berkshire County. After retiring from her career in insurance in 2016\, she started writing. It was a long-held dream she fully embraced. Her creative nonfiction essays and poetry share emotional and often universal stories. Her work has been published by Refinery29\, The Write Launch\, Entropy\, Brevity\, Chaleur Magazine\, and the WriteAngles Journal. Sign of a Loon is her first book.   \nTom Hoffman is a resident of the town of Washington and a member of the Washington Historic Commission.  He has always had a fascination with the William Whitney Estate in Washington\, and with exploring October Mountain. He has collected historical information and documentation from multiple sources.  Tom also enjoys fishing and hiking out-of-the-way locations. \nAmy Lafave is the Local History Librarian at the Lenox Library\, which has an extensive repository of materials on Lenox history. She enjoys working with and assisting historians like Tom. She is a lifelong resident of Lenox\, and currently lives in historic workers’ housing for the old Lenox Glassworks. 
URL:https://edithwharton.org/event/betsy-smith/
LOCATION:The Mount\, 2 Plunkett Street\, Lenox\, MA\, United States
CATEGORIES:Author Talks & Conversations
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://edithwharton.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Betsy-Smith-book-launch-1.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260930T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260930T180000
DTSTAMP:20260902T150352Z
CREATED:20260902T150251Z
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UID:10001651-1790787600-1790791200@edithwharton.org
SUMMARY:Almost Home | Mirabai Bush in conversation with Matt Tannenbaum
DESCRIPTION:Almost Home chronicles Mirabai Bush’s remarkable life across several tumultuous decades\, from NASA to an ashram in India and finally to the foundational role she played in the establishment of Eastern spiritual traditions in North America. Raised Catholic with Joan of Arc as her hero\, Mirabai is among the most influential people who brought Buddhism to the West from India in the 1970s. Her life tells a fascinating narrative of our time: the rediscovery of contemplative practices\, in many forms and from many traditions\, in secular modern culture. \nModerated by Matt Tannenbaum of the Lenox Bookstore\, this conversation will explore Mirabai’s remarkable journey as chronicled in Almost Home\, and the legacy that extends far beyond its pages. \n  \nIMPORTANT EVENT INFORMATION: \n\nThis one-hour talk takes place in The Mount’s Stable Auditorium\, a 140-seat\, climate-controlled\, indoor venue adjacent to the parking lot. \n\n\nSeating for all programs at The Mount is first-come\, first-served. If you have seating preferences\, we recommend arriving fifteen minutes early. \n\n\nAccessible seating is available. To discuss arrangements\, please contact us by phone: 413-551-5111 x5; or email: programs@edithwharton.org. For more information about accessibility\, review The Mount’s accessibility webpage. \n\n\nA book signing will follow this talk. Books can be purchased at the event from The Lenox Bookstore.\n\n\nQuestions? Email: programs@edithwharton.org; or phone: 413-551-5111 x2 \n\n  \n\n  \nMirabai Bush is the founder of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. Under her direction\, The Center introduced mindfulness and other contemplative practices into social work\, higher education\, law\, business\, environmental leadership\, the military\, and social justice activism. Her personal story in Almost Home embodies present history. Through intimate moments of a life well-lived\, she writes of the moon race in the 1960’s\, hippie India in the 1970’s\, her teachers Goenka and Neemkaroli Baba\, motherhood\, Vietnam\, psychedelics\, the civil war in Guatemala\, and of utmost importance\, the influence of Eastern spirituality on the West and the growth of feminism.
URL:https://edithwharton.org/event/almost-home/
LOCATION:The Mount\, 2 Plunkett Street\, Lenox\, MA\, United States
CATEGORIES:Author Talks & Conversations
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://edithwharton.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Mirabai-Bush.jpg
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