The sponsor of the event was the UTC University Honors Program. I've never seen the Roland Hayes Concert Hall this full before -- it was standing room only, and there was no room for any other standers. The wall-to-wall people were obviously thrilled to be there and afterwards, the book signing line snaked out of the building.
O'Brien spoke of Vietnam, being a parent, writing, and how stories can save us. We were on the edge of our seats, laughing, crying and thinking about, among many things, war, absolutes, life, death, art and the way that fiction and reality interact. It was an incredible night.
Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember but the story.
