Virginia Festival of the Book: Beyond Reason. Lessons From Loss

With Pamela Blair (I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping & Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One) and Gregg Korbon (Beyond Reason). Dr. Blair’s book offers help for survivors. Dr. Korbon’s discusses the death of his nine-year-old son and his family’s enduring journey through grief and healing.
Dr. Korbon lost his boy Brian during a baseball game. Korbon field in Charlottesville is named after his son. Pamela Blair lost her husband unexpectedly to a brain aneurysm.
Following the presentation questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by the president of Energy Focus Coaching, Michelle Prosser.
The Panel:
Pamela Blair is the co-author of I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One and The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Midlife and Beyond.
Dr. Gregg Korbon, author of Beyond Reason, specialized in anesthesiology and pain management, taught at Duke and the University of Virginia medical schools, entered private practice, and now directs an outpatient surgery center.
Michelle Prosser, author of Excuse Me, Your God is Waiting, is the president of Energy Focus Coaching. She works with organizations and individuals to reach goals and manifest a better life. She holds an MA from the University of Virginia and is a trained coach.
The event was one of a series held during the Virginia Festival of the Book. The series was sponsered by The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
Audio for this event was provided courtesy Charlottesville TV10.
Virginia Festival of the Book: What You Didn’t Know About Charlottesville

Eryn Brennan and Margaret Maliszewski (Charlottesville), Jean Cooper (A Guide to Historic Charlottesville and Albemarle County) (presented by Margaret O’Bryant), and Dr. M.C. Wilhelm and Henry K. Sharp (A History of Cancer Care at the University of Virginia, 1901-2011) share stories from Charlottesville’s varied history.
In this podcast you will learn about a Charlottesville neighborhood named “Canada” where freed black slaves once lived, how a $100,000 donation made to UVa by Peter McIntyre was used and about the 1956 filming of the movie Giant with Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor.
The event was hosted in conjunction with Celebrate!250.
Following the presentation questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by former Charlottesville Mayor Nancy O’Brien.
The Panel:
Eryn Brennan, co-author of Charlottesville, holds a masters degree in Architectural History and in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia. She has been an active preservationist and architectural historian for more than 10 years.
Margaret Maliszewski, author of Charlottesville and a historic preservation planner for more than 20 years, holds a masters degree in architectural history and a certificate in historic preservation from UVA. She is the author of Architecture and Ornament: An Illustrated Dictionary.
Nancy O’Brien has been a consultant and facilitator, was the first woman mayor of Charlottesville, and the first Director of the Thomas Jefferson District Planning Commission.
Margaret M. O’Bryant is librarian for the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society. She is a native of Franklin County, Virginia. Her Virginia background and experiences enrich and develop her current work with Virginia and area history and settlement.
Henry K. Sharp, is the author of A History of Cancer Care at the University of Virginia, 1901-2011.
Morton C. Wilhelm, M.D. Joseph Farrow Professor of Surgical Oncology, and Henry K. Sharp, Phd, wrote A History of Cancer Care at the University of Virginia 1901-2011, based on interviews of UVA’s physicians, nurses, and technicians.
The event was one of a series held during the Virginia Festival of the Book. The series was sponsered by The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
Audio for this event was provided courtesy Charlottesville TV10.
Virginia Festival of the Book: Our Sister City in Ghana

Peggielene Bartels and Eleanor Herman (King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village) discuss how Peggielene became King of the seaside village of Otuam, Ghana. Her village is near Charlottesville’s sister city, Winneba, Ghana. Listen as King Peggy charms the audience in Charlottesville’s City Council Chambers.
Following the presentation questions were taken from the audience. The program was introduced by former Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris.
The Panel:
Peggielene Bartels, author of King Peggy, was born in Ghana and moved to Washington, D.C., in her early twenties to work at Ghana’s embassy. In 2008, she became King of Otuam, a Ghanaian village. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Eleanor Herman, co-author of King Peggy, has written three books of women’s history, including the New York Times bestseller Sex with Kings and Sex with the Queen. Her profile of Peggy was a cover story for the Washington Post Magazine.
Dave Norris is the current Executive Director of the Charlottesville Institute for University-Community Engagement. He is a charter member of the Charlottesville-Winneba Sister City Committee, a former Mayor and current member of Charlottesville’s City Council.
The event was one of a series held during the Virginia Festival of the Book. The series was sponsered by The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
Audio for this event was provided courtesy Charlottesville TV10.
Virginia Festival of the Book: If Buildings Could Talk

Learn about the history of Jefferson’s Monticello, Keswick Hall and Grace Church. Following the presentation questions were taken from the audience. The program was introduced by Burt Zisk.
The Panel:
Rick Britton, author of Jefferson: A Monticello Sampler, is a Charlottesville-based author, historian, and cartographer. Having published more than 200 essays and articles, he is a frequent lecturer, radio commentator, and battlefield tour guide.
Barclay Rives, author of A History of Grace Church, is an Albemarle County native. He concerns himself with horses, local history, and characters. All three figure in this book. He is a regular contributor to In & Around Horse Country and Virginia Sportsman.
Burt Zisk is a long-time moderator for the Virginia Festival of the Book, and a former Engineer who worked for GE. He is originally from New York but was brought up in Norfolk, Virginia.
The event was one of a series held during the Virginia Festival of the Book. The series was sponsored by The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
Audio for this event was provided courtesy Charlottesville TV10.

Molly Bishop Shadel and Robert Saylor, authors of Tongue-Tied America spoke Thursday on the topic of effective public speaking.
In this podcast you will hear, Shadel and Saylor give several examples of poor public speaking taken from recent Republican primary stump speeches. They then follow with examples of many great speeches including the one in which Lou Gehrig moved a nation with his speech about the disease that now bears his name. You will learn why “It’s a bird, it’s a plane it’s Superman!” is so memorable. Learn how presidential candidate Al Gore transformed himself from a poor to an excellent speaker. And, you’ll hear Robert Kennedy speak on the night Marten Luther King was assassinated.
This podcast is a must-listen for anyone who speaks in public. Following the presentation questions were taken from the audience. The program was introduced by Josh Wheeler, director of The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.
Robert Sayler, co-author of Tongue-Tied America: Reviving the Art of Verbal Persuasion, is Ewald Law Professor at UVa. He was a trial lawyer in Washington, DC for thirty-five years.
Molly Shadel, is also a co-author of Tongue-Tied America: Reviving the Art of Verbal Persuasion, and a professor at the UVa School of Law. She has worked as an attorney in New York and D.C. She has also directed plays professionally.
The event was one of a series held during the Virginia Festival of the Book. The series was sponsered by The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
Audio for this event was provided courtsey Charlottesville TV10.
Charlottesville–Right Now: Joyce Lewis joins Coy Barefoot
Charlottesville–Right Now: Gary Kessler joins Coy Barefoot

Barbara Perry (Image: Sweet Briar)
On Saturday March 20, 2010, three authors who have written biographies of Supreme Court Justices convened in Charlottesville City Council chambers for a discussion of their works.
The moderator is Barbara Perry, Director of the Center for Civic Renewal at Sweet Briar College, and an author of The Supremes: An Introduction to the U.S. Supreme Court Justices | Second Edition.
The panelists are:
- Amy Leigh Campbell (Raising the Bar: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the ACLU Women’s Rights Project
)
- Mimi Gronlund, (Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark: A Life of Service (Texas Legal Studies)
)
- Tinsley Yarbrough, (David Hackett Souter: Traditional Republican On The Rehnquist Court
, John Marshall Harlan: Great Dissenter of the Warren Court
, Harry A. Blackmun: The Outsider Justice
, and The Burger Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy (ABC-Clio Supreme Court Handbooks)
)
The event was part of the 2010 Virginia Festival of the Book, presented by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.