Join Kirsten Eve Beachy — Professor, Writer, Mother, and Chicken Wrangler — for a presentation on her latest book: Martyrs and Chickens: Confessions of a Granola Mennonite.
In this memoir of essays, Beachy offers thoughts on motherhood, martyrdom, and the complexities of trying to live a simple life amidst its unexpected twists and turns. Her reading and book talk will be on May 3 from 1:00-3:00 PM at the Mennonite Heritage Center.
“You might call Martyrs and Chickens a coming-of-middle-age story,” Beachy said. “This memoir-in-essays is confessional, in the sense that I can say things on paper that I wouldn’t typically say out loud, whether it’s about weird postpartum ideations or my former neighbors’ terrible Christmas decorations, and also in the sense that I keep trying to pin down what I believe, even if it usually turns into a story about chickens.”
Beachy lives with her husband and twin daughters in Briery Branch, Va., where she writes about motherhood, disability, backyard poultry, and changelings. Beachy’s MFA in creative writing is from West Virginia University. An Associate Professor at Eastern Mennonite University, she edited Tongue Screws and Testimonies: Poems, Stories, and Essays Inspired by the Martyrs Mirror (Herald Press, 2010). Her stories, poems, and essays appear in various journals and anthologies.
Come to laugh, to cry, and to explore faith and life in all its messiness. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing. This is an in-person event. No registration is required.
Programming at the Mennonite Heritage Center shares Anabaptist-Mennonite stories in order to educate, inspire, and witness to the church and community. Learn more at Mennonite Heritage Center.
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