Norris Church Mailer, wife to the late Norman Mailer, is back in her home state over the next few days talking about her new memoir, A Ticket to the Circus. She’ll meet with UALR writing students Tuesday afternoon and then have a public reading and book signing in UALR’s Stella Boyle Theatre beginning at 6 p.m.

I got involved in her story because she’s a good friend of a new friend of mine, Aurora Huston, who also lives in Maumelle. A baby-boomer myself from a lower middle class family, I can identify with her pre-Norman years. The outdoor toilet (my grandparents), the Baptist upbringing (no shorts-no dancing at summer camp), pizzas (made from a box), and drive-in theaters (Sandra Dee/Troy Donahue).

I hope you’ll join me at the lecture to hear fascinating details of the rest life as the wife of Norman—and as an artist, a New York model, and actress.

Read the NY Times review of A Ticket to the Circus.