Author Talk: Leah Sottile in Conversation with Betsy Gaines Quammen

Country Bookshelf is excited to welcome Leah Sottile and Betsy Gaines Quammen to discuss Sottile’s new book BLAZING EYE SEES ALL on October 6 at 6pm.

Tickets are not required for this event, but RSVPs are appreciated. Please get a FREE general admission ticket by selecting "Get Tickets" on this page.

Books can be purchased at the event or ordered in advance through Eventbrite, ordering , or by calling Country Bookshelf at 406-587-0166 during our regular business hours.

The event at a glance:

• On October 6, please arrive early to secure your seat. Seating is general admission first come, first serve.
• At 6:00pm, the event program featuring Leah Sottile and Betsy Gaines Quammen will begin. The authors will take audience questions following the program.
• After the talk, Leah Sottile and Betsy Gaines Quammen will sign books.
• Can't attend in person? Order a signed copy of BLAZING EYE SEES ALL on our website or by calling 406-587-0166. Signing requests will need to be placed 24 hours before the event.

About Blazing Eye Sees All:

In this "unflinching and wildly entertaining" investigation of the modern New Age movement in America, a journalist aims to understand how women like Amy Carlson (the leader of Love Has Won) and others become devoutly invested in their beliefs (Talia Lavin, author of Culture Warlords).

Today, tarot cards, astrology and crystals are everywhere — on Instagram and TikTok, and sold at upscale boutiques and pricey wellness retreats. Journalist Leah Sottile turns her investigative eye toward the recent surge of New Age influencing American Culture. She looks at self-professed gurus like Love Has Won's Mother God and the mysterious channeler Ramtha, who have built devout followings based on their teachings. For more than a century, this pastel-colored world of love, light and enlightenment has been built upon a foundation of conspiracies, antisemitism, nationalism and a rejection of science.

In Blazing Eye Sees All, Sottile seeks to understand the quest for New Age spirituality in an era of fear that has made us open to anything that claims to bring relief from war, the climate crisis, COVID 19, and the myriad of other issues we face. At the same time, she attempts to draw a line between truly helpful, healing ideas and snake oil—helping us sort through the crystals to find true clarity.

Leah Sottile is a freelance journalist, essayist and author of the books Blazing Eye Sees All — praised as an “expose of derangement” by The Wall Street Journal — and When the Moon Turns to Blood, a finalist for the Oregon Book Award, which Booklist heralded as “exquisitely researched.” She is the host of several podcasts, including Bundyville, Hush and Burn Wild. She lives in Oregon.

Betsy Gaines Quammen is a historian and writer. She received a PhD from Montana State University where she studied religion, history and the philosophy of science. Her dissertation focused on Mormon history and the roots of armed public land conflicts occurring in the United States. She is fascinated at how religious views shape relationships to landscape. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Daily News, and the History News Network. She is the author of American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God, and Public Lands in the West and True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America. Betsy lives in Montana with her husband, writer David Quammen, three giant dogs, a sturdy cat, and a lanky rescue python.

Accessibility Information:

• The event will take place on the first floor of Country Bookshelf.
• All doorways have a width greater than 32 inches with the narrowest being our front door at 35 inches.
• The speakers will be using a microphone at this event.
• Please email c3RhZmYgfCBjb3VudHJ5Ym9va3NoZWxmICEgY29t if you have any specific accessibility needs and we will do our best to serve you!
• Do you or someone you know provide ASL interpretation? Country Bookshelf is seeking an interpreter to call on for future events. Please send information to c3RhZmYgfCBjb3VudHJ5Ym9va3NoZWxmICEgY29t if there is interest!

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