Immerse yourself in the settings, cultures, and atmospheres that shape characters and stories.

Each month at 83 Broadway in the Rondout we expand our horizons, engage in rich discussions, and experience how place – more than just a backdrop – can be a character all its own.

Plus enjoy doughnuts 🍩 and coffee ☕.

See all selections here. No registration required.

Cactus Country: A Boyhood Memoir by Zoë Bossiere

Newly arrived in the Sonoran Desert, eleven-year-old Zoë’s world is one of giant beetles, thundering javelinas, and gnarled paloverde trees. With the family’s move to Cactus Country RV Park, Zoë has been given a fresh start and a new, shorter haircut.

Although Zoë doesn’t have the words to express it, he experiences life as a trans boy—and in Cactus Country, others begin to see him as a boy, too. Here, Zoë spends hot days chasing shade and freight trains with an ever-rotating pack of sunburned desert kids, and nights fending off his own questions about the body underneath his baggy clothes.

Equal parts harsh and tender, Cactus Country is an invitation for readers to consider how we find our place in a world that insists on stark binaries, and a precisely rendered journey of self-determination that will resonate with anyone who’s ever had to fight to be themselves.