# Event Details - **Event Name**: Sarah Yahm with Joanna Rakoff: Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation - **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 04 Jun, 2025 at 07:00 pm – Wed, 04 Jun, 2025 at 08:00 pm - **Event Description**: Read on for important details for this live, in-person Brookline Booksmith event.About this EventIn person at Brookline Booksmith! Celebrate the release of Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation with author Sarah Yahm, in conversation with Joanna Rakoff.Register for the event!RSVP to let us know you're coming! Depending on the volume of responses, an RSVP may be required for entrance to the event. You will also be alerted to important details about the program, including safety requirements, cancellations, and book signing updates. In the event that we reach capacity and have to close RSVPs, there will not be a waiting list.Get your copy!Books will be available for purchase at the event, but you can ensure that you get a copy by preordering on this page. You can pick your book up after 6:30PM on the day of the event.Can't make it to the event? Preorder the book here to have it signed, and choose to have it held or shipped from the store!Book orders are processed for pickup or shipping after ticket sales have closed.Livestream!When possible, events are livestreamed. Check out our store YouTube channel for livestream updates. No registration is required for the livestream. https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events3/banners/7d2de600-1ed6-11f0-808c-b54e8032c09f-rimg-w1200-h675-dc000101-gmir.jpg Unfinished Acts of Wild CreationFollowing a tight-knit, eccentric Jewish family, the Rosenbergs, over four decades, Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation combines the madness of motherhood with the manic absurdity of grief in a stunning tale for fans of Allegra Goodman and Rebecca Makkai.The night after fleeing her mother's funeral, cellist Louise Rackoff meets aspiring therapist Leon Rosenberg at a Rosh Hashanah dinner in 1974. Over the next two decades, they build a marriage and a family based on honesty, argument, and a shared appreciation of the absurd. But that rock-solid foundation crumbles when Louise is diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease—the same one responsible for her mother's slow, agonizing passing.Determined to spare Leon and their daughter Lydia from her messy decline, Louise makes the simultaneously selfish and altruistic decision to leave her family and die on her own terms. Her disappearance forces the Rosenbergs to grapple with how to find meaning in the face of mortality—a manic and mystical quest that sends them careening across the globe, colliding into tattoo artists, Chasidic Jews, playworkers, and witches. And finally, back into each other.Bursting with humor and heartbreak, and inspired by Yahm's own experience as a disabled author facing the existential terror of parenting while ill, Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation leaps into the trials of motherhood, the impossibility of adolescence, the hopelessness of grief, and all the wild beauty and hilarity that makes life worth living anyway.Sarah Yahm has worked as an educator, oral historian, documentarian, and writer. She has a Master’s degree in Social Documentation from UC Santa Cruz and in Public Humanities from Brown University. She taught at UC Santa Cruz and Brown University. She has published in Slate, The Bellevue Literary Review, and placed pieces on NPR and affiliates, among others. In her work as a writer and an academic, she’s focused on the lived experience and social meaning of illness and disability. She lives in Montpelier, VT.Joanna Rakoff is the author of the international bestselling memoir My Salinger Year and the bestselling novel A Fortunate Age. Rakoff’s books have been translated into twenty languages, and the film adaptation of My Salinger Year opened in theaters worldwide in 2021 and is now streaming. She has been the recipient of fellowships and residencies from MacDowell, Sewanee, Bread Loaf, Authors’ Guild, PEN and more and has taught at Columbia University, Brooklyn College, and Aspen Words. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, O: The Oprah Magazine, Vogue, Elle, and elsewhere, and her new memoir, The Fifth Passenger, is forthcoming.About Brookline BooksmithWe are one of New England’s premier independent bookstores, family-owned and locally run since 1961. We offer an extensive selection of new, used, and bargain books; unique, beautiful gifts; award-winning events series; and specialty foods. Every day, we strive to foster community through the written word, represent a diverse range of voices and histories, and inspire conversations that enrich our lives. Find more at brooklinebooksmith.com!EVENT ACCESSIBILITYThis event will take place at street level. If possible, the event will be livestreamed to YouTube. ASL interpretation may be provided (based on the availability of interpreters) but must be requested at least 2 weeks in advance of the event. Seats are limited. Please email us at ticketing@brooklinebooksmith.com as soon as possible if you require ASL interpretation, guaranteed seating, or other accommodations. We will do our best to serve your needs! - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/brookline/sarah-yahm-with-joanna-rakoff-unfinished-acts-of-wild-creation/100001330186627009 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, virtual, entertainment - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket URL**: https://consumer.pxf.io/c/1339408/3151484/39691?partnerpropertyid=1191892&MediaPartnerPropertyId=1191892&svlink=14105511&level=1&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.com%2Fe%2Fsarah-yahm-with-joanna-rakoff-unfinished-acts-of-wild-creation-tickets-1330186627009 - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 45.04, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Brookline - **state**: MA - **country**: United States - **location**: Brookline Booksmith - **lat**: 42.34263869999999 - **long**: -71.12171390000003 - **full address**: Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline, United States ## Event Organizer details - **affiliate_id**: 10 - **organizer**: Brookline Booksmith (https://allevents.in/org/brookline-booksmith/22552756) ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: banner - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/b5cca4404a886ba9fce5f6b1421271f47c794cd012eea4fcfbffa3c39916338b-rimg-w1200-h600-dcffffff-gmir.jpg?v=1745256733 - **Alt text**: thumbnail - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/70dbedd0b1495c2a9f6d79c5f0491054c58ed74d79b3c9dac5537e698ab65460-rimg-w400-h400-dcffffff-gmir.jpg?v=1745256733 ## FAQs - **Q**: When is the event happening? - **A:** Wed, 04 Jun, 2025 at 07:00 pm - **Q**: Where is the event happening? - **A:** Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline, United States - **Q**: What is the ticket price? - **A:** starting from 0 up to 45.04 USD - **Q**: Who is organizing the event? - **A:** Brookline Booksmith - **Q**: What type of event is this? - **A:** art, literary-art, virtual, entertainment - **Q**: Where can I find ticket details about Sarah Yahm with Joanna Rakoff: Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation ? - **A:** You can find ticket details about this event on AllEvents. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Sarah Yahm with Joanna Rakoff: Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/b5cca4404a886ba9fce5f6b1421271f47c794cd012eea4fcfbffa3c39916338b-rimg-w1200-h600-dcffffff-gmir.jpg?v=1745256733", "startDate": "2025-06-04", "endDate": "2025-06-04", "url": "https://allevents.in/brookline/sarah-yahm-with-joanna-rakoff-unfinished-acts-of-wild-creation/100001330186627009", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Brookline Booksmith", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "279 Harvard Street", "postalCode": "02446", "addressLocality": "Brookline", "addressRegion": "MA", "addressCountry": "US" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "42.34263869999999", "longitude": "-71.12171390000003" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "Read on for important details for this live, in-person Brookline Booksmith event.", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-05", "availabilityEnds": "2025-06-04", "validFrom": "2026-04-05", "lowPrice": "0.00", "highPrice": "45.04", "price": "0.00", "url": "https://allevents.in/brookline/sarah-yahm-with-joanna-rakoff-unfinished-acts-of-wild-creation/100001330186627009" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-05", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-04-05", "url": "https://allevents.in/brookline/sarah-yahm-with-joanna-rakoff-unfinished-acts-of-wild-creation/100001330186627009", "price": 0, "name": "RSVP" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-05", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-04-05", "url": "https://allevents.in/brookline/sarah-yahm-with-joanna-rakoff-unfinished-acts-of-wild-creation/100001330186627009", "price": "7.18", "name": "RSVP + Support Our Store" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-05", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-04-05", "url": "https://allevents.in/brookline/sarah-yahm-with-joanna-rakoff-unfinished-acts-of-wild-creation/100001330186627009", "price": "33.70", "name": "RSVP + Unfinished Acts (event pickup)" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-05", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-04-05", "url": "https://allevents.in/brookline/sarah-yahm-with-joanna-rakoff-unfinished-acts-of-wild-creation/100001330186627009", "price": "45.04", "name": "Unfinished Acts (book only, priority mail)" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-05", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-04-05", "url": "https://allevents.in/brookline/sarah-yahm-with-joanna-rakoff-unfinished-acts-of-wild-creation/100001330186627009", "price": "33.70", "name": "Unfinished Acts (book only, store pickup)" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Brookline Booksmith", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/brookline-booksmith/22552756" } ] } ] ```