Actress and author, mother and mental-health advocate, Mariel Hemingway grew up the granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway and the daughter of Jack and Byra Louise Hemingway. Dysfunctional is one way of describing the family challenges she faced growing up.
Alcoholism and bitter fighting on the part of her parents; an older sister, Muffet, diagnosed with schizophrenia; another older sister, the model and actress Margaux, a victim of suicide at the age of 42 (her death 35 years after her famous grandfather’s suicide): Mariel Hemingway writes about her life in a new book called Out Came the Sun: Overcoming the Legacy of Mental Illness, Addiction, and Suicide in My Family (Regan Arts). She writes as her teen self in another new book, Invisible Girl (Regan Arts), which is aimed at young adults.
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On Saturday, March 21st, Memphians have a chance to meet Hemingway at two store signings. She will be at the Walmart Supercenter (7525 Winchester) from 11 a.m. to noon. She’ll be at the Walmart Supercenter (577 N. Germantown Parkway) from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Her Memphis visit is also in support of the Memphis-based JC Runyon Foundation, which provides college scholarships to those overcoming drug, alcohol, and mental-health issues. Since its founding in 2010, the foundation has awarded more than $75,000 in scholarships to students in Memphis and across the U.S.
In addition to her Walmart appearances, Hemingway will be guest speaker at the JC Runyon Foundation’s gala on Saturday night at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens.
For its part, Walmart will donate 10 percent of the proceeds from the sale of Hemingway’s books to the JC Runyon Foundation. Good for the foundation. Good for the city too. Memphis has the honor of being the first in the country to debut Out Came the Sun and Invisible Girl, before the author’s many national media appearances the first week of April. •
