https://millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/15868357
https://millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/15868357
Mill Valley Public Library Mill Valley Public Library Events
Panel: On Grief and Healing In-Person
The Mill Valley Library presents a panel of talented local authors who have written about the complicated topic of grief and healing. Featuring Colleen Dolan, Julia Park Tracey, and Carol Bruce. Moderated by Christine Walker.
Colleen Dolan is a writer, certified Grief Educator, and facilitator for the Compassionate Friends of Marin. Her daughter, Chelsea Faith Dolan, was a well-respected electronic musician and producer known professionally as Cherushii. Chelsea died in the Ghost Ship fire, one of 36 talented young friends who attended a party on the second floor of the warehouse. Colleen witnessed the fire on December 2, 2016 and attended every day of the trial two years later. Her book The Ghost Ship Fire chronicles her journey from the night of the fire to her eventual acceptance of grief as an ongoing part of her life. This book is written for bereaved parents searching for the How and Why of their children’s deaths.
Carol Bruce is the author of Son on the Run, the story of a brilliant young man who, in his late 20s, fell into the turbulent waters of schizophrenia. It tells of his action-packed worldly travels and a graphic rendition of his mother’s emotional plea for help.
Julia Park Tracey is an award-winning career journalist and author. Inspired by a mysterious train receipt in her family's scrapbook, she researched her Orphan Train roots and wrote The Bereaved. Another such ancestor is the Puritan woman named Silence Greenleaf; Silence: A Novel is published by Sibylline Press. New fiction in November 2025 is Whoa, Nelly! —a contemporary journey into literary fandom by a lonely librarian who lives through a fixation on the Little House books.
Christine Walker is a visual artist and author of the novel Tap Dancing at the Bluebird and the narrative nonfiction A Painter's Garden: Cultivating the Creative Life. She is also a creative consultant in strategic visioning and a writing teacher with an MFA in Writing and Literature from Bennington College and an MA in Creative Arts Interdisciplinary from San Francisco State University. With her composer husband, Dennis Hysom, she co-created Wooleycat children’s media. They live in Sonoma County, CA, where she is painting “Comings & Goings in Joy & Light,” in honor and remembrance of their son, Quinn, and writing a book in conversation with his poems and journals. Quinn died in 2020 at the age of 31.
Date:
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Time:
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Time Zone:
Pacific Time - US & Canada (change)
Location:
Creekside Room
Audience:
Adults
Categories:
In Person Literary > Author Talk Registration is required. There are 79 seats available.
Mill Valley Public Library Mill Valley Public Library Events
Panel: On Grief and Healing In-Person
The Mill Valley Library presents a panel of talented local authors who have written about the complicated topic of grief and healing. Featuring Colleen Dolan, Julia Park Tracey, and Carol Bruce. Moderated by Christine Walker.
Colleen Dolan is a writer, certified Grief Educator, and facilitator for the Compassionate Friends of Marin. Her daughter, Chelsea Faith Dolan, was a well-respected electronic musician and producer known professionally as Cherushii. Chelsea died in the Ghost Ship fire, one of 36 talented young friends who attended a party on the second floor of the warehouse. Colleen witnessed the fire on December 2, 2016 and attended every day of the trial two years later. Her book The Ghost Ship Fire chronicles her journey from the night of the fire to her eventual acceptance of grief as an ongoing part of her life. This book is written for bereaved parents searching for the How and Why of their children’s deaths.
Carol Bruce is the author of Son on the Run, the story of a brilliant young man who, in his late 20s, fell into the turbulent waters of schizophrenia. It tells of his action-packed worldly travels and a graphic rendition of his mother’s emotional plea for help.
Julia Park Tracey is an award-winning career journalist and author. Inspired by a mysterious train receipt in her family's scrapbook, she researched her Orphan Train roots and wrote The Bereaved. Another such ancestor is the Puritan woman named Silence Greenleaf; Silence: A Novel is published by Sibylline Press. New fiction in November 2025 is Whoa, Nelly! —a contemporary journey into literary fandom by a lonely librarian who lives through a fixation on the Little House books.
Christine Walker is a visual artist and author of the novel Tap Dancing at the Bluebird and the narrative nonfiction A Painter's Garden: Cultivating the Creative Life. She is also a creative consultant in strategic visioning and a writing teacher with an MFA in Writing and Literature from Bennington College and an MA in Creative Arts Interdisciplinary from San Francisco State University. With her composer husband, Dennis Hysom, she co-created Wooleycat children’s media. They live in Sonoma County, CA, where she is painting “Comings & Goings in Joy & Light,” in honor and remembrance of their son, Quinn, and writing a book in conversation with his poems and journals. Quinn died in 2020 at the age of 31.
Date:
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Time:
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Time Zone:
Pacific Time - US & Canada (change)
Location:
Creekside Room
Audience:
Adults
Categories:
In Person Literary > Author Talk Registration is required. There are 79 seats available.
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