Molly Ringwald reads from "When It Happens to You" at the Weyerhaeuser Memorial Chapel, Macalester College; she will be interviewed by John Reimringer, author of "Vestments"

Molly Ringwald explores the complexities of modern relationships in When It Happens to You: A Novel in Nine Stories,
a gripping and nuanced collection of interlinked stories. Writing with a
deep compassion for human imperfection, Ringwald follows a Los Angeles
family and their friends and neighbors while they negotiate the
hazardous terrain of everyday life--revealing the deceptions,
heartbreak, and vulnerability familiar to us all.

In
“The Harvest Moon,” a stay-at-home mom grapples with age, infertility
and an increasingly distant husband. In “Ursa Minor,” a former
children's television star tries to rebuild his life after being
hospitalized for "exhaustion." An elderly woman mourns the loss of her
husband and her estranged relationship with her daughter in “The Little
One.” In “My Olivia,” a single mother finds untapped reserves of
strength to protect her flamboyant six-year-old son who wishes only to
wear dresses and be addressed as "Olivia." And in the devastating title
story, a betrayed wife chronicles her pain and alienation, leading to an
eviscerating denouement.

Molly Ringwald began her film career at the age of thirteen with her Golden Globe nominated performance in The Tempest. Her extensive film credits include The Pick-Up Artist, For Keeps, Fresh Horses, Betsy’s Wedding, Some People Call It a Sling Blade, Jean-Luc Godard’s King Lear, and the now iconic coming-of-age movies Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, and The Breakfast Club. Ringwald has starred in the Broadway production of Cabaret, the Tony-nominated production of Enchanted April, and can currently be seen starring in the breakout hit The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family. The author of the bestseller Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family and Finding the Perfect Lipstick, Ringwald’s writing has appeared in Esquire, The New York Times, Parade, Interview, and The Hartford Courant. When It Happens to You is her fiction debut. Molly Ringwald lives in Los Angeles with her family.

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John Reimringer’s novel Vestments is
the Winner of the 2011 Minnesota Book Award for Novel & Short
Story. It tackles age-old and yet urgently contemporary issues in the
Catholic Church, and infused throughout by a rich sense of the history
and vibrant texture of Saint Paul. Originally drawn to the priesthood by
the mystery, purity, and sensual fabric of the Church, as well as by
its promise of a safe harbor from his violent father, James Dressler
finds himself--just a few years after his ordination--attracted again to
his first love, Betty García. Torn between these competing loves, and
haunted by his heritage, James finds himself at a crossroads.

A
former newspaper editor and a graduate of the MFA program at the
University of Arkansas, John Reimringer lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota,
with his wife, the poet Katrina Vandenberg. Vestments is his first novel.