MANCHESTER, NH – Co-authors Terry Farish and Lochan Sharma, in partnership with Building Community in New Hampshire, are hosting a discussion about immigration and belonging in New Hampshire on Saturday, November 9, 2024, from 4 – 6 p.m. at the Bookery in Manchester. The discussion will center around their newly released book, Go Home, a YA novel that explores identity, community, and belonging through the lens of three teenagers.
During the event, co-authors Farish and Sharma will do a reading to introduce the characters of the book, and the dilemma around immigration that each character faces, followed by a discussion about writing the novel, drawing on each of their own experiences.
On display during the event will be images drawn by Bhutanese-Nepali elders who were resettled in New Hampshire. The drawings were done in Ascentria ESL classes in Laconia and Concord in 2011-2012 with teachers Johanna Young and Laurie Lalish.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in a mini-workshop about creating a story of their own.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The novel is written in two voices, a New Hampshire-born girl and a Nepal-born boy.. One summer, in a fictional New Hampshire community, three teens, Olive, Gabe, and Samir are drawn into conflict. Olive and Gabe want nothing more than to make a home and family together. Then Samir and his family move in across the street from Olive. They come for their dream, to open a Nepali restaurant. Samir’s presence awakens in Gabe an intense anger toward immigrants he believes are taking resources from his struggling family. They each must make a decision about what friendship and loyalty to family call for. GO HOME is a crossover YA novel for both teens and adults.
“Terry Farish and Lochan Sharma are from different generations and different cultures – differences they showcase in a new young adult novel they spent four years writing together. GO HOME shows how teenage characters are grappling with some of the same questions igniting the political debate around immigration.” — Amanda Gokee, Boston Globe
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Terry Farish, tfarish@gmail.com or visit www.terryfarish.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Terry is also the author of The Good Braider a novel in verse, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and Either the Beginning or the End of the World. She lives in Portsmouth.
Lochan Sharma was born in Nepal after his family was exiled from Bhutan. They came to Concord in 2009. Lochan is a student at Keene State College. This is his debut novel.