We are excited to host local author Danielle Bainbridge for the book launch of Dandelion: A Memoir in Essays. For this event, Danielle will be joined in conversation by Jane Hseu.
Dandelion: A Memoir in Essays is a profoundly personal exploration of the complex intersections of race, gender, queerness, and mental health. Through a collection of essays, poetry, and reflections tumbling back and forth through time, Danielle struggles to navigate the precarious balancing act of Blackness and societal pressures, chronic illness and resilience. Dandelion invites readers into a raw, no-holds-barred emotional journey, offering a unique, kaleidoscopic perspective rarely seen in mainstream media.
Danielle Bainbridge is Assistant Professor of Theatre, Black Studies, and Performance Studies at Northwestern University. Her first academic book, Currencies of Cruelty: Slavery, Freak Shows, and the Performance Archive, is forthcoming in 2026 from NYU Press. Danielle has received scholarships and residencies from Tin House, the Adirondack Center for Writing, and the Banff Centre in Canada. Her web series and media work have been nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards and one NAACP Image Award. She lives and loves in Chicago with her partner and two naughty cats.
Jane Hseu is Professor of English at Dominican University outside of Chicago, where she teaches classes about racial minority US literatures, writing, and storytelling. She has published personal essays on funky Chinese American names, growing up in her mother’s Shiseido cosmetics store, and mental health and recovery. Jane is currently working on her memoir, Growing Up Evangelical, Chinese, and Depressed. She is a board member for the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame and core organizer for Banyan: Asian American Writers Collective. She is committed to building community by bringing people together for literary events and workshops, and so has contributed presentations and organizing for venues such as the American Writers Festival, Printers Row Lit Fest, Transformative Language Arts Network, Pour One Out storytelling series, AWP, APIDA Arts Festival, and Casa de Las Americas. Find out more at jane.hseu.com.
Accessibility: This event is hosted at the bookstore, which is a wheelchair accessible space. Masks are required. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. To request ASL interpretation for this event, please email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com by no later than 14 days before the event. For other access needs please email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com.
