Local author Mike Tidwell will share insights from his new book The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue in a conversation with U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin. The book is a riveting and elegant account of the impacts of climate change both on dying trees and Tidwell’s neighbors on Willow Avenue in Takoma Park.

Tidwell also highlights Raskin’s efforts to battle cancer and climate change at the same time. Raskin says the book “will change the way you think about climate change and remind you that, just as all the problems are fundamentally in your backyard, so are all the solutions.”

Set against the national backdrop of recent record heat domes and raging wildfires and hurricanes, Tidwell chronicles his neighbors coping with Lyme disease, a midwife who builds a geothermal energy system, a church coping with flooding, and young people anguishing over whether to have kids. He will sign copies of his book after the event, which is co-sponsored by the City of Takoma Park’s Takoma Park Arts series and People’s Book bookstore in downtown Takoma Park.

Tidwell is a longtime author, climate activist, and contributing writer for The Washington Post. He founded the Chesapeake Climate Action Network in 2002 where he has led local and national clean energy campaigns.

This event is free and no tickets or reservations are needed. Seating is first come, first served, and there is limited parking at the Takoma Park police station, Piney Branch Elementary School, and neighboring streets.

The Takoma Park Arts cultural series is organized by the City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division, including free concerts, theater, dance, film screenings, art exhibitions, and other events at the Takoma Park Community Center. You can find more info and sign up for our e-newsletter at takomaparkmd.gov/arts. Join us and celebrate the arts!