The Vermont Humanities’ current Vermont Reads selection is The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton. We have chosen this novel for our next “One-off” discussion to be facilitated by Alan Berolzheimer.

Named after a catastrophic storm, Wanda is born into a world that’s rapidly changing. Rising sea levels and devastating weather patterns transform her coastal Florida town. As she moves from childhood to adulthood, Wanda adapts to this remade landscape, finding adventure, love, and purpose in a place largely abandoned by civilization.

Told in four parts – power, water, light, and time – this novel is a meditation on the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness. It considers the dissolution of the human-made world, and helps us see how human connection, adaptability, and a little bit of magic might guide us to a new future.

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Alan Berolzheimer has directed the book publishing program of the Vermont Historical Society since 1998. Alan is also the project historian and assistant director of The Flow of History, a Teaching American History program providing professional development activities to Vermont teachers. He received a Ph.D. in 20th-century U.S. History from the University of Virginia in 1996 and lives in Norwich.