Join First Light Books for an evening with our Austin neighbor Amanda Eyre Ward, whose new novel sends a family scattered across the globe on a collision course with each other, with Greece, and with the question none of them want to answer: is it ever too late to choose love?

Arrivals and Departures brings back the Perkins family from her bestselling The Jetsetters, and it's the kind of book that's equal parts hilarious family chaos and genuine heartbreak.

“Ward deals with heavy themes with a deft hand, and readers will root for the flawed Perkinses even as they bury their heads in the (wine-soaked) sand . . . Book clubs will also be drawn to its satisfying but hardly neat ending.”—Booklist, starred review​

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She'll be joined in conversation by Mary Helen Specht, author of Migratory Animals and the forthcoming novel Mudlark.

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A reception with the author will take place from 5:00 to 5:30 PM, followed by the conversation at 5:30 PM and a signing to close the evening. Tickets include a copy of the book and a reserved seat. Unreserved seats are available on a first come, first served basis. Free RSVPs are also encouraged.

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About the book

The Perkins family has problems. They're scattered across the globe. Lee, a glamorous reality-TV star, is struggling with her mental health in the spotlight. Reagan, her younger sister, has fallen for a romance scammer. Cord, their charming brother, is one drink away from losing it all. And their mother, Charlotte, still longs for the love she let slip away a decade ago, a lover who sailed off with her heart to a remote island in Greece.

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When Reagan disappears, Lee flies first-class to Athens to save her family, again. There, against the glittering Mediterranean and the shadow of the Acropolis, Lee contends with emotional nieces, relentless paparazzi, and her own fragile heart. Lee is desperately searching for her sister, and for the hope and joy she thought was gone forever.

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Across continents and crises, each member of the Perkins family must face the same question: is it ever too late to choose love?

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Featuring characters from Ward's bestselling novel The Jetsetters, Arrivals and Departures is brimming with humor, honesty, and hope.

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About the author

Amanda Eyre Ward is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels, including Cat & Vivian, The Jetsetters, The Lifeguards, Lovers and Liars, and Arrivals and Departures. Her bestselling novels have been featured in People, The New York Times, and more.

She publishes nonfiction in Travel + Leisure, The New York Times, Texas Monthly, and other publications, as well as original work on Audible.

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Amanda's fiction has always been shaped by the places she's lived and adventured: South Africa and Cape Cod inspired Forgive Me, New Orleans inspired The Nearness of You, a cruise ship from Athens to Barcelona inspired The Jetsetters, and Austin, the city she calls home, has found its way into Sleep Toward Heaven, The Lifeguards, and more. She lives here in Austin.

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About the conversation partner

Mary Helen Specht is the author of the forthcoming novel Mudlark (July 2026) and the novel Migratory Animals, a New York Times Editors' Choice and winner of the Texas Institute of Letters Best First Fiction Award and the Writers' League of Texas Fiction Prize. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Prairie Schooner, and numerous other publications. A Fulbright Scholar to Nigeria and Dobie-Paisano Writing Fellow, Specht currently teaches creative writing at St. Edward's University in Austin.

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