An Evening with Anne-Marie Oomen

Each year, the Library of Michigan announces the Michigan Notable Book List, featuring 20 books published during the previous calendar year. Each book is about or set in Michigan, or written by a Michigan author. Selections include a variety of genres, both fiction and nonfiction, that appeal to many audiences and explore topics and issues close to the hearts of Michigan residents.

Anne-Marie Oomen’s 2022 memoir, As Long As I Know You: The Mom Book, about her difficult but ultimately rewarding relationship with her mother, won a Michigan Notable Book Award. As Long as I Know You is a personal map to navigating the stress and family decisions brought about by a parent with dementia, and finding a mother who may have been there all along—only to lose her again in the time of COVID. 

Anne-Marie Oomen’s readings spring from a range of lively sources including intergenerational challenges (Mother-daughter conflict?), travel adventures (You lost your passport!), and how she discovered poetry (involving a 1969 Camaro). Working in multiple genres,  Oomen explores the nature of relationships, the natural world, and personal transformation. She will appear at the Alice & Jack Wirt Public Library on April 6 for a discussion of the book and Q & A. 

The Michigan Notable Book program is sponsored in part by the Library of Michigan Foundation, Michigan Center for the Book, and Michigan Humanities.