Jay Gilbertson
“I’m getting used to your name, I had originally named you Amy, but Helen’s nice too. Had an aunt by that name… Anyway, to get to the point of this note, on October sixth, nine-teen-seventy-five, I had you—gave birth to you—I mean. You were such a cute little thing, but I was all of seventeen and it just wasn’t in the cards for me to raise you. Trust me on this, what the hell do you know when you’re seventeen?” -Back to Madeline Island, context of a decision a young girl makes to give up a child for adoption
Raised in Eau Claire, Gilbertson tried life in Florida after completing his degree at UW-Stout. But he returned to the North, first as the owner of the Jay Gilbertson Salon in Minneapolis. Now he lives on 80 beautiful, certified organic acres in Northwest Wisconsin where he grows much of his own food, recycles and enjoys life. His books about two women who uproot their lives in Minneapolis and take up residence on Madeline Island have are entertainingly serious or seriously entertaining. Both books ask readers to think about what it takes to consider new lives, new ways of being.
Event
Sunday, October 24, at 2:00 p.m. – “Life on Madeline Island,” Menomonie Public Library, Menomonie, Wisconsin
Publications
- Back to Madeline Island, 2006
- Moon Over Madeline Island, 2005
Web Site
http://www.jaygilbertson.com/
