The New Dominion Book Club will meet to discuss Cathryn Hankla’s memoir Lost Places. Refreshments will be provided!
Founded in fieldwork and reflection, Lost Places follows the author from small towns and rural landscapes, through a transitional city neighborhood, to the challenging construction of an urban renewal loft, as she struggles to renovate living spaces and transform relationships after an early divorce. In a voice droll and lyrical by turns, Hankla charts a path through enigmatic encounters with snakes and contemplations of Thomas Jefferson’s problematic biography homes, underground and ancient cities, Star Trek, the contradictory nature of Appalachia, desire, our families, spiritual callings, and definitions of home. The title essay offers an extended meditation on “the center place,” Chaco Culture, cradle of pueblo civilization in northwest New Mexico, its talismanic beckoning and interpretative layers.