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Join us for an evening to hear Lyz speak and for a Q&A with a special guest. Stay to meet Lyz and get your book signed.
The event is free and open to the public; books will be available for sale through Next Page Books.
Lyz Lenz is a local author whose third book, This American Ex-Wife, published in 2024, was an instant New York Times best seller. This book weaves reportage with sociological research, literature with popular culture, and personal stories of coming together and breaking up to create a kaleidoscopic and poignant portrait of American marriage today. Lyz argues that the mechanisms of American power, justice, love, and gender equality remain deeply flawed, and that marriage, like any other cultural institution, is due for a reckoning. Unlike any other book about divorce, this raucous manifesto for acceptance, solidarity, and collective female refusal takes readers on a riveting ride—all while pointing us all toward something a little more free.
Lyz's writing has appeared in The Washington Post, the Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Times, and others. Her book God Land was published in 2019, through Indiana University Press. Her second book Belabored, was published in 2020 by Bold Type Books. Lyz’s essay “All the Angry Women” was also included in the anthology Not that Bad edited by Roxane Gay. She is also the host of the This American Ex-Wife podcast.
Lyz received her MFA in creative writing from Lesley University. She lives in Iowa with her two kids and two dogs. She writes a regular newsletter, Men Yell At Me, where she explores the intersection of politics and our bodies in red-state America.
The Downtown Library is located at 450 5th Avenue SE, in the heart of Downtown Cedar Rapids. It is a 94,000 square foot building with a variety of civic spaces and a vibrant collection of library materials. Special features of this location are the Whipple Auditorium, a 200 seat auditorium overlooking Greene Square; and the LivingLearning Roof, a green roof with public seating and space to hold special events. Roasters Café is located in the Downtown Library, providing a full service coffee shop for visitors, as well as catering for meetings and special events.
