BookPeople Presents: Jessica Goudeau - We Were Illegal
BookPeople welcomes Jessica Goudeau to celebrate the release of We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family's Mythmaking and Migration.
Date and time
Location
BookPeople
603 North Lamar Boulevard Austin, TX 78703About this event
- 2 hours
Please welcome Jessica Goudeau to celebrate We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family's Mythmaking and Migration!
This event is free and open to the public.
- Start time: 7:00 P.M.
- Run time: 45-60 minutes, followed by a signing line.
- Location: The second floor of BookPeople.
The author will be signing and personalizing copies of the book after the speaking portion of the event.
- To get a book signed, a copy of the event book or an item of equal value must be purchased from BookPeople.
Guidelines:
- Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
- There will not be a live stream or recording available.
- BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary.
- If you have any other questions, please visit our Eventbrite FAQ. If your question isn't covered in the FAQ, feel free to email us at online@bookpeople.com.
About the book:
An award-winning author's deep exploration of pivotal moments in Texas history through multiple generations of her own family, and a ruthless reexamination of our national and personal myths
Seven generations of Jessica Goudeau’s family have lived in Texas, and her family’s legacy—a word she heard often growing up—was rooted in faith, right-living, and the hard work that built their great state. It wasn’t until her aunt mentioned a stowaway ancestor and she began to dig more deeply into the story of the land she lives on today in suburban Austin, that Goudeau discovered her family’s far more complicated role in Texas history: from a swindling land grant agent in the earliest days of Anglo settlement that brought slavery to Mexican land, up through her Texas Ranger great-uncle, who helped a sociopathic sheriff cover up mass murder.
Tracking her ancestors’ involvement in pivotal moments from before the Texas Revolution through today, We Were Illegal is at once an intimate and character-driven narrative and an insider’s look at a state that prides itself on its history. It is an act of reckoning and recovery on a personal scale, as well as a reflection of the work we all must do to dismantle the whitewashed narratives that are passed down through families, communities, and textbooks. And it is a story filled with hope—by facing these hypocrisies and long-buried histories, Goudeau explores with us how to move past this fractured time, take accountability for our legacy, and learn to be better, more honest ancestors.
About the author:
Jessica Goudeau is the author of After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America, which won the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, a Christopher Award, and was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice book. She has been a columnist for Catapult and written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Washington Post, among many other places. She produced short documentaries distributed by Teen Vogue and The New Yorker about young women crossing borders. She has a PhD in literature from the University of Texas and teaches Creative Nonfiction at Wilkes University.
By purchasing a book from BookPeople, you are not only supporting a local, independent business – you’re showing publishers that they should continue sending authors to BookPeople.
Thank you for supporting Jessica Goudeau and your local independent bookstore!
Frequently asked questions
For most events, we will begin with an introduction at the start time, followed by a reading or moderated author conversation, an audience Q&A, and finally our book signing portion of the event. However, please check the Eventbrite details for each event for further information.
RSVPs are encouraged in order to reserve a spot at the event. While most of our events won't reach the capacity of our event space, certain titles and/or authors may surpass what our space can hold. In this case, customers with RSVPs will be prioritized for entry to the event.
MOST of our events take place at our store at 603 N Lamar Blvd. However, please make sure you check the location for each event, as some larger events are put on in conjunction with outside venue partners. Please note that our events program is not affiliated with the BookPeople at the AUS airport.
For free events, you may proceed to the 2nd floor and find a seat whenever you arrive, though you may wish to make your book purchase downstairs before start time. For ticketed or large events, an events staff member will be waiting near the front door to check you in.
To attend the talk/Q&A portion of the event, you do not need to purchase a copy of the event book. To participate in the signing line after the talk, you WILL need to purchase a copy of the book OR make a purchase of equal value from BookPeople. Thank you for supporting our events program!
If you already own a copy of the event book and would like to join the signing line, we ask that you make a purchase of equal value from BookPeople and be prepared to present your receipt to an events staff member upon joining the line. Thank you for supporting our events program!
For free events, you may pick up your book at BookPeople on the night of the event (or on release date, if you keep your receipt to bring on event night). For ticketed events, if you preordered BEFORE the event was announced, please contact us at online@bookpeople.com. Thank you!
If we have a waitlist available, Eventbrite will give you an option to join it on the ticket purchase or RSVP page. If the event is sold out AND the waitlist option is unavailable, the waitlist has unfortunately met its cap and we are not accepting further names in an effort to avoid false hope.
For free events, we ask that you cancel your RSVP via Eventbrite so another customer may have your spot. For ticketed events, we ask that you submit a refund request 7+ days in advance. You may also keep your ticket and pick up your book at the registers within 30 days of the event night.
Please place an order for the event book via bookpeople.com at least 24 hours before the event and make your request in the order notes field at checkout. Our events and Internet Orders teams will do their best to fulfill your request.
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BookPeople is the largest independent bookstore in Texas. For more information, visit BookPeople.com.