Rachael J. Hughes
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Author & Poet
Check out the official author interview with Erika Funke of NPR's WVIA:
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Reviews
Told with delicious candor and delicate wit, Us Girls takes the reader over a mountain of heartbreak and down a river of physical tribulation, while Rachael Hughes clings to her life raft: Pearl Jam’s lyrical rock and roll narratives. It’s a perilous journey, but her music, her mom and her true grit brings her to a safe shore. Crisply told.
J. Michael Lennon, Mailer biographer and editor of the boxed set Norman Mailer: The Sixties (Library of America)
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Being a woman is a complex, difficult job at times. But it's that painstaking work that young Rachael yearns for as she navigates her teenage years. Never before has a coming of age story been so devastating and uplifting at once. A rare condition has left Rachael without the reproductive organs to feel completely female, and the reality of this breaks her heart over and over again. Yet her heart and soul are saved by her love of music and the precious bond she shares with her mother. Woven with a melody of images, Us Girls is the beautiful story of a girl, her mom, and Pearl Jam.
Amye Archer, author of Fat Girl Skinny
Rachael Hughes’s memoir, Us Girls: My Life without a Uterus, is as powerful as the music that saved her. She writes, “…discovering my non-existent uterus was only the beginning of my medical nightmare.” Once doctors detect what Hughes calls her “anatomical anomaly,” they subject her to invasive testing and treat her as a curiosity instead of an adolescent girl. All the while, she’s forced to examine her own place in a world where “woman” and “mother” are often synonymous. With grace, humor, and a little help from Eddie Vedder, Hughes has penned a compelling story of hope and resilience.
Barbara J. Taylor, author of Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night and All Waiting is Long.
Bio
Rachael J. Hughes has been a writer since she could hold a pencil, though she prefers Pilot G2 Retractable Gel pens with comfort grip in groovy hues. She received her MFA in Creative Non-Fiction from Wilkes University. Her work has been published in The Writing Disorder, Ripasso, Tiny Booklets and Word Fountain.
Rachael J. Hughes teaches writing and literature at Alvernia University. She aspires to teach for an MFA writing program someday, and open her own creative writing center. She is waiting patiently to meet Eddie Vedder, so she can die happy. Meanwhile, she writes and resides in PA with her family, including three cats.
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News & Events
Coming Soon...
TBD
Richmond, Virginia
Date and Venue TBD
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TBD
Reading and Book Signing
Barnes and Noble
Christiansburg, Virginia
TBD
Christiansburg Public Library
125 Sheltman Street
Christiansburg, VA 24073
TBD
Third Friday, Wilkes-Barre PA
Book Reading and Signing with featured local poet, David J. Bauman