Author Lisa Romeo to Appear at Bernardsville Library

Lisa Romeo’s book, “Starting with Goodbye: A Daughter’s Memoir of Love After Loss,” begins with loss and ends with love, as a midlife daughter rediscovers her enigmatic father after his death. Join us at Bernardsville Public Library on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 pm as Ms. Romeo speaks about her book, which unfolds across her native New Jersey and Las Vegas. She’ll describe how her late father’s absent presence invited her to reconsider a privileged childhood, that included horses and travel, and the man who made that possible, the father she once turned away from in life, but who in death held her spellbound and showed her it’s never too late to connect. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of “Orphan Train” and “A Piece of the World,” wrote of Romeo’s book, “Lisa Romeo’s compelling memoir is both a loving tribute to her adored father and a clear-eyed portrait of their complicated relationship. Reading it, you can’t help but reflect on your own familial bonds—but you may also find, as I did, that Lisa’s lovely writing and startling insights lead you into deeper territory, as she wrestles with questions of identity, mortality, and the vagaries of love.”

A resident of Cedar Grove in Essex County, Ms. Romeo reconsiders in this brutally honest yet compelling portrayal and tribute, the affluent up-bringing her father financed and the emotional distance that grew when he retired to Las Vegas and she remained in New Jersey where she and her husband earn moderate incomes. She also confronts death rituals and navigates new family dynamics, while living both in memory and the unfolding moment. Romeo searches for meaning, reconciling the Italian-American father—self-made textile manufacturer who liked newspapers, smoking, Las Vegas craps tables, and solitude—with the complex man she discovers influenced everything in her life, from career choice to spouse. By forging a new father-daughter “relationship,” grief is transformed to hopeful life-affirming redemption.

Romeo’s work has been nominated several times for Best American Essays, and is listed in Notables in Best American Essays 2016. Her creative nonfiction is published in literary and popular media, including the New York Times, O The Oprah Magazine, Brevity, Under the Sun, Full Grown People, and many other places. She is thesis director for Bay Path University’s MFA program, has taught creative nonfiction at Montclair State University and Rutgers, and for The Writers Circle in New Jersey. A former equestrian journalist, public relations specialist, and real estate troubleshooter, Romeo completed an MFA degree at Stonecoast (University of Southern Maine), and earned a BS in journalism from Newhouse (Syracuse University). She is already at work on her next book.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.