Meeting #15: Beyond Book Club Asheville
June 8, 2023 – June 11, 2023

BBC Asheville was the book club’s 15th meeting – our crystal anniversary! It took place the weekend of June 8-11, 2023. Asheville, North Carolina was a wonderful place to visit – the weather was wonderful, scenery breathtaking, and breweries overflowing. (Seriously – there were a lot of breweries). But easily the best part of the weekend was a once in a lifetime conversation with one of our authors. Read on to learn more!

On Thursday, the members began to arrive. The usual Thursday night is a steady trickle of arrivals, and anticipation building for Friday to kick things off in style.

On Friday, a subset of the book club went golfing early in the AM. Upon their return, and after some other gentlemen went out to explore, take in the scenery, and grab some coffee – the first of the two book discussions was on the agenda.

Up first was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. Regarded as a classic of American literature, the book club enjoyed the book and the discussion. It was a really interesting historical snapshot of a moment in American history, and clear how this took the country by popular storm upon its release.

After the book discussion, the club ventured forth for … a Jeep tour of the waterfalls of the Blue Ridge Mountains! (The Blue Ridge Mountains are a subset of the Smokey Mountains – something we learned on the trip). We adventured around the woods, did some light hiking, and saw some pristine falling water.

After the waterfall excursion, and some much-needed rest, relaxation, and cleaning up, the club set out for dinner and some brewery hopping.

Saturday – the book club was honored to have the author of two separate book club book selections, Luis Alberto Urrea, join us via Zoom to discuss his work “The Devil’s Highway.” The book surrounds the migrant experience through a deadly crossing from Mexico into Arizona, focusing on the lives of the people involved, and the tragic absurdities of the surrounding political environment. This was the main event of the weekend, a truly incredible experience – we had a wide-ranging discussion, of the subject matter of the book, but also Luis’ creative process, his life and experiences which inform his art, his upcoming works, and so much more. It was truly a one-of-a-kind moment for the book club, a rare insight into an artist we have come to really respect and appreciate. A heartfelt thank you to Luis, and his incredible wife Cindy, without whom this meeting wouldn’t have been possible.

After the second book discussion, the boys saw the weekend out with some riverfront exploration through Asheville, some more breweries, and a last dinner to close things out. On Sunday the members departed, satisfied with another great book club!