An Afternoon with Jo Ferrone

Books & Books is proud to present an afternoon with Jo Ferrone discussing her novel Doreen by Doreen.

About the Book:

For fans of Schitt's Creek and Fleabag.

Doreen invites you on her uproarious ride. She is as unpredictable as a spinning coin, yet as familiar as your morning coffee.

Embark on a one-way Greyhound journey to authenticity with Doreen by Doreen, the unapologetically real and riotously funny odyssey of one woman's pursuit of everything from a GED to her very own Prince Charming.

In Jo Ferrone's audaciously crafted narrative, we meet Doreen—with her beat-up American Tourister, a suitcase more symbolic than practical, stuffed with tattered dreams and a loyalty card to life's hard knocks. This self-taught philosopher of the everyday embarks on an expedition that wobbles across the colorful linoleum of Wawas and Waffle Houses and stumbles through the enchanting gates of Disney World.

Doreen by Doreen isn't just a story. It's a vibrant, living testament to the grit it takes to glue together a life that's threatening to fall apart at every janky seam and piece together the fractured fairytale she deserves.

With grammar that would make an English teacher weep but a narrative voice that will have you howling with laughter, Doreen by Doreen receives a proud C- in conventional composition but an A+ in heart, humor, and unparalleled human spirit. In a literary landscape stuffed with pretension and artifice, Doreen's voice—raw, irreverent, and profoundly sincere—cuts like a hot knife through "I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter".

About the Author:

"It's an exclusive club that everyone can join" is the mission and mantra of Jo Ferrone. A born rebel of eight siblings, she is best known as the co-creator of Angela Anaconda and FidoDido, her homage to the ordinary humans living extraordinary lives - heroes for everyone. Drawn to explore she found her soulmates in dingy diners, cartoon creators drawing rooms and the backwoods of Oyster Bay, Long Island NY. A failed receptionist with abysmal typing skills, she nonetheless writes novels that reveal people as perfectly imperfect as we are. Her first book, a tale of a girl who turns into a PB&J sandwich before being eaten by a horse is of course, a 2nd grade masterpiece found only in her public school library. She resides in Miami, FL on the beach with an entourage of animal companions... and wouldn't have it any other way.