Pub Day for Also Here 🎉

Also Here is out! Buy it now from your local bookstore.

Hi good people,

Today is officially Also Here’s pub day! (Pub day is short for publication day. If you want to bring the book to a pub, that’s cool too.) I have so many things swirling in my head, but I think the most pressing is to say thank you. Thank you for supporting, following and rooting for me. Thank you for pre-ordering and sending kind messages and photos, and sharing my essays and stories.

I know there will be more to share soon, but how about some pictures?

Such a thrill to see the book in so many hands and places.

A miniature, hand-painted version of my book cover made by the multi-talented Nadia Staikos, who also interviewed me for JMWW. Her debut novel comes out next fall!

To prep for launch, I baked several of my grandma’s recipes (some of which are featured in the book). Her recipes can be tricky, but luckily I had excellent help.

For the book launch party tonight at the Book Cellar, we made a ton of crescent roll cookies, which is the only quantity of anything my Bubbie ever made.

Interviews

In addition to baking, I’ve also been busy with book promotion. Here are some radio, podcast and written interviews I’ve done in the last few weeks.

“In Conversation with Terry Shepherd” 🔈 (~15 mins)

“Also Here - Good Grief with Cheryl Jones” 🔈 (~60 mins)

“Chicago-based author Brooke Randel discusses her new book, Also Here, with Dr. Luke Berryman” - The Ninth Candle 🎥 (~30 mins)

“Longing, Literacy, and Our Grandmas: A Conversation with Brooke Randel by Nadia Staikos” - JMWW

“Brooke Randel - Authors Answer” -Five-question interview with Elizabeth Rynecki

And as if that’s not enough, Chicago Review of Books included Also Here on their list of “12 Must-Read Books of December 2024.” 🎉

From Chicago author Brooke Randel comes Also Here, a deeply moving memoir about the author’s relationship to her grandmother and Holocaust survivor Golda Indig. For years the two never talked about her grandmother’s experiences, until she called unexpectedly to ask Brooke to write about her life and experience in the war. The result is a deeply resonant and unflinching memoir about her grandmother’s journey of survival and the special relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren.

Events

How many events make a book tour? Three? In that case, there’s also a book tour, starting tonight.

1. Also Here Book Launch - Book Cellar, Chicago, IL

   Tuesday, December 10, 2024 at 7 pm ct

2. 3GNY Book Release and Author Talk with 3G Brooke Randel - Virtual

   Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 7 pm ct

3. Reading at Schuler Books - West Bloomfield, MI

   Wednesday, January 22, 2024 at 7 pm et

I started this project nine years ago when the idea of a book felt like a hazy dream. Now my words, as well as my Bubbie’s, are out in the world, living their own wild life. I don’t have any official data yet, but I know the book has already shipped to California, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, North Carolina, Florida, Canada and more (thanks to everyone who ordered a signed copy). It’s been a whirlwind and there’s still more to come. This is probably obvious, but I miss my grandma a lot.

If you want to help support the book, consider leaving a review online, buying for a friend, or requesting it from your local library. Some links:

• Buy Also Here from Bookshop (US)

• Buy Also Here from Barnes & Noble (US & Canada)

• Buy Also Here as an ebook

As Goldie would say, unbelievable.

Brooke