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Join Alex Myers, ancestor of Deborah Sampson, for an author talk in this Zoom webinar.
In 1782, Deborah Sampson ran away from home and disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. More than 200 years later, Sampson’s ancestor, author Alex Myers, was so inspired by her story that he wrote "Revolutionary", a fictionalized novel based on the true story of Sampson’s 17 months as a soldier.
About Revolutionary: After years as an indentured servant in a sleepy Massachusetts town, chafing under the oppressive norms of colonial America, Deborah can’t contain her discontent any longer. When a sudden crisis forces her hand, she decides to finally make her escape. Embracing the peril and promise of the unknown, she cuts her hair, binds her chest, and, stealing clothes from a neighbor, rechristens herself Robert Shurtliff. It’s a desperate, dangerous, and complicated deception, and becomes only more so when, as Robert, she enlists in the Continental Army.
What follows is an inspiring, one-of-a-kind journey through an America torn apart by war: brutal winters and lethal battlefields, the trauma of combat and the cruelty of betrayal, the joy of true love and the tragedy of heartbreak. In his brilliant Revolutionary, Myers, who himself is a descendant of the historical Deborah, takes full advantage of this real-life heroine’s unique voice to celebrate the struggles for freedom, large and small, like never before.
About Alex: Alex Myers is a writer, teacher, and speaker. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Harvard University, studying Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Myers was the first openly transgender student at Harvard and worked to change the University’s nondiscrimination clause to include gender identity. After earning a master’s degree in religion at Brown, he has pursued a career in teaching English at secondary schools. He completed his Master’s of Fine Arts in fiction writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts, where he began his work on Revolutionary, which was published in 2014 by Simon & Schuster.
This program is a partnership with Ashland Public Library.
