“Almost There” – Local author book launch

Join local author Jean Seager as she celebrates the launch of her first book, Almost There. This collection of linked short stories explores the Jewish immigrant experience in the early twentieth century. Almost There explores themes of courage, identity, belonging, and the meaning of home.

The program will be followed by an opportunity to meet the author and celebrate the release of the book.

Almost There offers an intimate, emotionally resonant portrait of the Jewish immigrant experience in early twentieth-century America. This collection of linked short stories follows individuals who faced the uncertainty of a new land, summoned the courage to navigate unfamiliar cultures, and endured the antisemitism that shaped their world. While fictionalized, these narratives were inspired by interviews with Americans who shared memories of their immigrant ancestors. Their stories unfold against the backdrop of sweeping historical events, such as the Great Depression, World War II, the Holocaust, and the founding of the State of Israel. Poignant and powerful, Almost There illuminates a pivotal chapter in American history and speaks to the timeless search for belonging, identity, and home.

Jean Seager, a native Californian, is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and received two graduate degrees from San Diego State University. Her work has appeared in the literary journals, Long Story and Mikrokosmos. She received a second-place award in the San Diego Public Library’s short story contest.

In addition to writing fiction, she is a playwright who has won multiple prizes and contests, including first place in the San Diego Jewish Community Center’s short play festival, commended status in the Jewish Plays Project’s On One Foot play competition and numerous awards from the Scripteasers short play contests. Her monologue was a winner in New York’s Playground Experiment’s Faces of America.

Jean has lived in Coronado for more than fifty years. She served on the Coronado Planning Commission, the Public Art Subcommittee, and the board of the Friends of the Coronado Public Library. Her two children attended Coronado public schools and during their tenure, she was president of the Coronado Band Boosters and active in various school site PTOs. When she is not writing, Jean enjoys playing duplicate bridge with her husband Bill, playing the piano, following the Padres and of course, spending time in libraries.

Like many Jews of her generation, Jean’s grandparents came to America from eastern Europe in the early 20th century. She remembers being fascinated as her mother told stories of growing up as a second-generation immigrant in Tennessee’s tobacco country. As Jean grew older, her friends whose families settled in geographically diverse cities of Eveleth, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; St. Louis, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; and other cities; told stories of their own immigrant ancestors. She was inspired to explore issues surrounding immigration via fictionalized accounts of these stories. Almost There is her first book.