Michael Meade: ‘Why the World Doesn’t End’

Michael Meade, an Island-based storyteller, mythologist and author, will offer a presentation themed around the release of his new book, “Why the World Doesn’t End: Tales of Renewal in Times of Loss,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at Vashon Methodist Church. The evening will include a blend of storytelling, poetry and discussion.

Meade first became well known in the 1980s and 90s as one of the leading lights of the Men’s Movement. He is the author of four other books and with James Hillman and Robert Bly has edited “Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart” and “Crossroads: A Quest for Contemporary Rites of Passage.” He is also the founder of the Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, a nonprofit that encourages greater understanding among diverse peoples.

Meade’s new book tackles the daunting subject of how to respond to apocalyptic events and times.

“Nightmare scenarios of the End may turn out to be a dramatic device intended to awaken people to deeper levels of awareness as life reaches not a final end, but a vital edge of revelation rippling with new discoveries and surprising insights,” Meade writes in the book.

Karen Cushman: ‘Will Sparrow’s Road’

Island author and Newberry Medalist Karen Cushman will read from her newest book, “Will Sparrow’s Road,” at 6 p.m. Friday at the Vashon Bookshop.

Cushman has won wide acclaim and a loyal readership for her historical fiction aimed at young readers. Her books include the Newberry-winning “Catherine, Called Birdy,” and seven other works set in times and places that include medieval England, a Western mining camp in 1849 and 1950s Los Angeles.

“Will Sparrow’s Road,” set in Elizabethan England, follows the adventures a scrappy young outcast who must make his own way in the world despite almost insurmountable obstacles