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NOMADLAND SWEE�S AWARDSCEREMONIES
Journalist �ESSICA BRUDER grew up in Montclair �MKA ’ 96� and teaches narrative writing at Columbia Journalism School . But several years ago , she opted to give up her stable lifestyle and live in acamper van she named VanHalen , logging more than 15,000 miles on the road .
It was for agood cause� To document the itinerant lifestyles of Americans who ’ d lost their homes and opted tolive as nomads . Her book �omadland� ��r�i�ing �merica in t�e ��enty��ir�t �ent�ry was published in �01� to great acclaim , and the film based onit , produced by and starring �rances McDormand , has won awards at multiple screenings , including the Toronto and Venice �ilm �estivals . On April �5 , it won Hollywood ’ s top honors at the 9�rd Academy Awards� Best �ilm , Best Director �Chlo� �hao� and Best Actress �McDormand� . As the Oscar ceremonies opened , Bruder tweeted a photo of herself with two of the movie ’ s real-life characters she ’ d met while researching the book , saying “ Sent these ravishing ladies on their way to red carpet glory ... go get ’ em , girls� Ibelieve inyou .”
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HAUNTED HA��ENINGS
Decades after the car crash that killed her mother , Natalie Greene is haunted by the prospect that she may have caused the fatal event . Seeking respite , she joins her sister on a business trip to the Cayman Islands , only to strike something �orsomeone �while driving on a desolate street back to their hotel . Or did she� Montclair novelist NICOLE BOKAT ’ s THE HA��INESS THIEF , out May 18 , displays the confident , witty style the author showed in previous works , including Redeeming ��e , which was nominated for both the Hemingway �oundation�P�N Award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for �iction . Bokat will celebrate the launch of ��e �a��ine�� ��ie� at Watchung Booksellers on June 9at���0 pm , when she will be interviewed byauthor Tess Callahan . �1� . � ��ailable t�ro�g� �atc��ng �oo��eller� , 5� �air�eld �t ., �9��� �������� , �atc��ngboo��eller� . com ; and Montclair �oo� �enter , ��� Glenridge ��e ., �9��� �8������ , montclairboo�center . com .
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�RETTY �OLLINATORIN �ERIL
The regal orange and black monarch butter�ies , who appear in �sse� County during the summer and early fall , are not only beautiful , but key to a healthy environment� they are pollinators who help �owering plants and food crops reproduce . It ’ s frustrating to learn that their e�istence is threatened due to climate change and loss of habitat , but reassuring to know there ’ s something we can do about it . The nonprofit organic MORGAN�S FARM , part of the Cedar Grove Historical Society , is selling ��0 kits of milkweed plants where monarch butter�ies can lay their eggs� ��0 pollinator kits may be preordered online as well . Milkweed plants are also available in different varieties for �� . 50 to �6 each . “ The monarchs could be gone in our lifetime if we don ’ t start increasing their habitats one garden at a time ,” says John Ostering , who runs the farm at the Pompton Avenue property , which dates to the mid-1800s . � 9�� �om�ton ��e ., �9��� ��9� 5��� , morgan��arm . org .
�RUDER : AMY SUSSMAN , GETTY IMAGES ; �UTTERFLIES : COURTESY OF ARLENE SC�NEIDER ; �OO� : COURTESY OF S�E �RITES �RESS
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MAY 2021 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE