Wrinkled Rebels: Laura Katz Olson in conversation with Alix L. Olson

Charis welcomes Laura Katz Olson in conversation with her daughter, Alix L. Olson for a discussion of Wrinkled Rebels, a story of how six people achieve meaningful lives through the struggle for social justice. It is also a tale of love, the bonds of friendship, and growing old positively.
Now 80 years old, retirement and advanced age have dissipated the spirit of six college radicals of the 1960s, who jointly had participated in civil rights campaigns and anti-war protests. Having engaged in only periodic communication over the decades, they suddenly receive an invitation to reunite for an extended weekend. Struggling with whether to go, each of them has divergent qualms and expectations for the proposed gathering.
During their three days together, they confront their inner demons, each other, and their future. Does Rebecca, the prime mover of the event, find solace after losing her wife and career? Can Malaika regain her sense of self after stepping down from her successful law practice? Mourning the loss of her youthful athletic prowess and attractiveness, what happens when Deanna faces her old friends?
Struggling with two divorces and a failing marriage, can Russell attain peace of mind? How will Max, an expat living in Canada, manage with his incipient dementia? Will the demoralized Keith recover his idealism?
Laura Katz Olson, AGF Distinguished Professor of Political Science, has taught at Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) since 1974. She teaches U.S. Health Care Policies, the Politics of Health Care, the American Presidency, and the American Political System. She directs the political science department’s internship program.
To date, she has published nine nonfiction books, focusing on U.S. healthcare, including the frail elderly. The Politics of Medicaid received Lehigh University’s Williamson Book Award in Social Research (2012). Elder Care Journey: A View from the Front Lines, which relates her personal experiences as a caregiver for her mother, won Gold Medals in the Ninth Annual Living Now Book Awards (September 2017) and the Living Now Awards (2017), both in the category of caregiving, and was a finalist in the Sarton Women’s Book Award in the category of Memoir (2016).
Ethically Challenged: Private Equity Storms U.S. Health Care was published in March 2022. The book won a gold medal in The North American Book Awards, the Axiom Business Book Awards, and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Benjamin Franklin Awards and a silver medal in the Nautilus Book Awards. In addition, it won a National Indie Excellence Award, and was a finalist in both the American Book Fest Best Book Awards and Montaigne Medal/Eric Hoffer Awards. Her novel, Wrinkled Rebels, was published by Vine Leaves Press in July 2024.
Alix L. Olson (she/her) is Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Emory University’s Oxford College. Alix’s most recent book, The Ends of Resistance: Making and Unmaking Democracy, was published by Columbia University Press in January 2024. Her scholarly essays have appeared in journals like Feminist Theory, Contemporary Political Theory, New Political Science, and Wagadu, and in numerous edited collections. Olson is also a widely published spoken word poet, and the editor of Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution (Seal Press, 2007). Alix’s work as an artist-activist is the focus of the multi award-winning documentary film Left Lane: On the Road with Folk Poet Alix Olson which traveled the international film festival circuit.
The event is free and open to all people, but we encourage and appreciate a donation of $5-20 in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Donate on crowdcast or via our website: www.chariscircle.org/donate or in person at the event.