Join Lauren Francis-Sharma and Cleyvis Natera in a conversation about Lauren’s latest novel, “Casualties of Truth,” inspired by Lauren’s time at South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation’s Amnesty Hearings. They’ll discuss this gripping tale and delve into issues of justice, revenge, race, parenting, and of course, the complications of friendship.”

Casualties of Truth is a riveting literary novel with the sharp edges of a thriller about the abuses of history and the costs of revenge, set between Washington, D.C., and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Prudence Wright seems to have it all: a loving husband, Davis; a spacious home in Washington, D.C.; and the former glories of a successful career at McKinsey, which now enables her to dedicate her days to her autistic son, Roland. When she and Davis head out for dinner with one of Davis’s new colleagues on a stormy summer evening filled with startling and unwelcome interruptions, Prudence has little reason to think that certain details of her history might arise sometime between cocktails and the appetizer course.

About Lauren Francis-Sharma

Lauren Francis-Sharma is the author of Book of the Little Axe, a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the critically acclaimed novel ’Til the Well Runs Dry. She was a MacDowell fellow and is the Assistant Director of Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference at Middlebury College. She resides near Washington, DC, with her family.

About Cleyvis Natera

Cleyvis Natera is a novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic. She is the author of the debut novel Neruda on the Park, which was a New York Times Editor’s Choice and was awarded a Silver Medal by the International Latino Book Awards for Best First Book of Fiction. The recipient of awards and fellowships from PEN America, the Vermont Studio Center, Hermitage Artist Retreat, and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Natera studied literature and creative writing at Skidmore College and holds a M.F.A. in Fiction from New York University. Her fiction, essays and criticisms have appeared in Kirkus, The New York Times Book Review, URSA, TIME, Gagosian Quarterly, The Brooklyn Rail, The Rumpus, The Washington Post, Pleiades, The Kenyon Review, Aster(ix) and Kweli Journal, among others. Her second novel, The Grand Paloma Resort, is forthcoming August 2025 from Ballantine Books. Natera currently teaches creative writing at Barnard College of Columbia University and Montclair State University.