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Mara Altman

Acclaimed local author Mara Altman will be at The Book Catapult on Friday, August 24 at 7:30pm to discuss and sign her new book, Gross Anatomy: Dispatches From the Front (and Back). Mara will be joined in-conversation by her book jacket designers, Leah Goren and Adil Dara Kim.

An honest, funny, neurotic, and totally gross love child of Mindy Kaling and Mary Roach.

Mara Altman's volatile and apprehensive relationship with her body has led her to wonder about a lot of stuff over the years. Like, who decided that women shouldn't have body hair? And how sweaty is too sweaty? Also, why is breast cleavage sexy but camel toe revolting? Isn't it all just cleavage? These questions and others like them have led to the comforting and sometimes smelly revelations that constitute Gross Anatomy, an essay collection about what it's like to operate the bags of meat we call our bodies. Divided into two sections, "The Top Half" and "The Bottom Half," with cartoons scattered throughout, Altman's book takes the reader on a wild and relatable journey from head to toe--as she attempts to strike up a peace accord with our grody bits. With a combination of personal anecdotes and fascinating research, Gross Anatomy holds up a magnifying glass to our beliefs, practices, biases, and body parts and shows us the naked truth: that there is greatness in our grossness.

Mara Altman enjoys writing about issues that embarrass her (e.g. chin hair), because she has found that putting shame on the page diffuses the stigma, leaving her with a sense of empowerment and freedom. Her first book, Thanks for Coming, an investigation into love and orgasm, was translated into three languages. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Salon and New York Magazine among other publications. Before going freelance, She worked as a staff writer for the Village Voice and daily newspapers in India and Thailand. She is an alumna of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and lives in San Diego with quite a few other hairy beings.

Leah Goren is an illustrator and surface pattern designer. She graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2012 with a BFA in Illustration. Her clients include Anthropologie, Chronicle Books, Kate Spade, The New York Times, and Penguin Random House. She is the author of BESTIES, and co-author of Ladies Drawing Night

 

Adil Dara Kim was born in Morocco, raised in Pennsylvania, and currently lives in New York. He works as a designer across many industries specializing in print, web, branding, experience and concept. Adil has worked with Amazon, Audible, Broad City, Nike, Simon and Schuster, SoccerBible and Urban Outfitters.

 

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Date: 08/24/2018
Time: 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Place:

3010-B Juniper Street
San Diego, CA 92104
United States