An Afternoon with Ann Bancroft

Join local author Ann Bancroft as she debuts her book, Almost Family. A short reception will start the event followed by the author discussing the book with Cheryll Cochrane at 5 p.m. The author will sign books following the talk.

This event is free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served, subject to availability. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event courtesy of Bay Books Coronado. 

Almost Family features a rough-around-the-edges, quick-witted heroine who stumbles upon an unlikely, but necessary, found family. Liz Millanova has stage four cancer, a grown daughter who doesn’t speak to her, and obsessive memories of a relationship that tore her marriage apart. She thinks of herself as someone who’d rather die than sit through a support group, but now that she actually is going to die, she figures she might as well give it a go. At a hospital-sponsored group, Liz hits it off with two other patients. Dave, a gay Vietnam vet, Rhonda, a devout, nice woman, and snarky Liz decide to ditch the group and meet on their own. They call themselves The Oakland Mets, and their goal is to enjoy life while they can. In the odd intimacy they form, Liz learns to open up and get close. The trio joined forces to have a good time – but what they wind up doing is helping one another come to grips with dying and resolve the unfinished business in their lives.

Ann Bancroft began writing fiction after a career in journalism and communications. Her first job after graduating from UC Berkeley was as “copy boy” at The Oakland Tribune, at a time when there were few women in the newsroom. As a reporter, she worked in the State Capitol bureaus of the San Francisco Chronicle, United Press International and the Associated Press. She wrote editorials for The Sacramento Bee and was later appointed communications director for the State Department of Education. After a first bout of breast cancer, she retired early and began writing fiction, leading generative writing workshops, and mentoring breast cancer patients. She’s an alumna of the Community of Writers, the Tomales Bay Writers Workshops, and Everwood Farmstead artist’s residency. “Almost Family” is her debut novel, to be published when she is 71. Ann and her husband are avid travelers and hikers, and when not writing, she loves to cook and entertain. They live in Sacramento and Coronado, California.

Cheryll Cochrane is a retired educator, having taught writing for over thirty years to middle school students. Over the years her own short fiction has been published in literary journals. She also has developed curriculum for teachers, centered on interpretation of literature and “bringing out the writer” in her students. She lives in San Diego.