Jennifer Chesak and Sara Johnson Allen In Conversation

Join us on Sunday, August 13th at 7 pm when we have Jennifer Chesak and Sara Johnson Allen in conversation about their books, The Psilocybin Handbook for Women and Down Here We Come Up.

This is a free event, but RSVPing is highly encouraged as we are a small space and may fill up! This event is standing room only, but you may bring a camping/folding chair, cushion, or pillow if you like, or get cozy on our floor! Feel free to bring non-alcoholic drinks but please do not bring any food.

You can purchase The Psilocybin Handbook For Women here.

You can pre-order Down Here We Come Up (out 8/1) here.

Copies of both authors' books will be available for purchase at the event, and 15% off other books will be offered in-store browsing once the event is over.

About The Psilocybin Handbook For Women:

If you’re looking for mushroom mansplaining, you’ve come to the wrong book. The Psilocybin Handbook for Women is a resource for everyone, although it features information specific to those assigned female at birth—because psychedelics may have different effects and applications across the sexes. This informative guidebook is packed full with everything you need to know about psilocybin, including its history, potential medicinal and recreational benefits, the latest evidence-based research, how to microdose and trip sit, and more. With The Psilocybin Handbook for Women, you’ll also get the answers to some of your most pressing questions, like:

• Does psilocybin affect women differently?
• Does it matter where I am in my cycle when I use psilocybin?
• Can psilocybin help with menstrual migraines, endometriosis, or premenstrual dysphoric disorder?
• Will psilocybin boost my sex life?
• Do hormones have an impact on the entourage effect?
• What the heck is the entourage effect?
• And more!

Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned psychonaut, this research-backed guide will help you successfully navigate the world of magic mushrooms.

About Jennifer Chesak:

Jennifer is a Nashville-based freelance journalist, editor, fact-checker, and adjunct professor with almost two decades of experience and a Master of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University's Medill. Her writing has appeared in Washington Post, Verywell, Healthline, Greatist, Health, Real Simple, Parents, Prevention, Runner’s World, Trail Runner, Women’s Running, Mindbodygreen, and more. She also serves on Healthline’s Medical Integrity Team. In addition to editorial work, her cornucopia of clips showcases a robust lineup of content marketing for several global and national brands.

Jennifer owns and operates a manuscript editing company, Wandering in the Words Press. She helps authors polish their manuscripts to perfection for sending to an agent or for self- or independent publishing. She also helps authors navigate the self-publishing process from start to finish.

Teaching is also a passion for Jennifer. She is an adjunct instructor at Belmont University in the journalism and publishing programs, where she teaches copyediting, journalism practicum (AP Style), journalism writing, nonfiction and technical editing, and media studies. In addition to mentoring students in Middle Tennessee State University's certificate in writing program (MTSU Write), Jennifer is also the managing editor of the university’s literary magazine SHIFT. She enjoys teaching evening and weekend workshops through Nashville's The Porch.

In her free time, Jennifer can be found getting dirty in her garden or running a muddy back trail. In a former life, she was a television reporter in her native state of North Dakota. Uff-da!

About Down Here We Come Up:

From her deathbed, con-artist Jackie Jessup lures home her estranged 26-year-old daughter Kate Jessup. There, Kate meets former teacher Maribel Reyes, who is separated from her family in Ciudad Juárez. While none of these women trust each other, they do have a chance to get back what they have each lost. But they must rely on each other to hatch a perilous plan Kate doubts could ever work. She knows to distrust the motives behind any of her mother’s plans. Something unseen is smoldering underneath the surface. Kate just needs to figure it out.

As the three women work alongside each other, the evils of human trafficking, the lucrative lure of the drug and weapons trade, and the heartbreak of people fleeing their homelands flow through Jackie’s bungalow day and night.

A story of mothers and daughters, lost children, and broken love, Down Here We Come Up, takes a raw and intimate look at flawed people who are trying to make up for lost time and past miscalculations.

About Sara Johnson Allen:

Sara Johnson Allen was raised (mostly) in North Carolina. Her first novel, Down Here We Come Up, is the winner of the 2022 Big Moose Prize and is forthcoming from Black Lawrence Press in August 2023.

Her fiction has appeared in PANK Magazine, SmokeLong Quarterly, and Reckon Review. She was recently awarded runner-up in the 2022 Third Coast fiction contest.

In 2018, she was awarded the Marianne Russo Award for Emerging Writers by the Key West Literary Seminar for her novel-in-progress. In 2019, she received the Stockholm Writers Festival First Pages Prize. She has also been awarded MacDowell fellowships and an artistic grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation.

When she is not grading papers or chasing after her three kids, she likes to write about ‘place’ and how it shapes us.