(DESTIN) The next best thing to having lovable Emma around, is to go to a Valentine party in her honor. The first double book signing and Meet the Author event will be held at the Destin History and Fishing Museum on Wednesday, February 13, from 5- 7 p.m.
The new book, "The Help of Destin, Emma Irby," is the second by local author, Athena Marler Creamer. The first, “The Impressive Art of Straightening the Home, Creating a Home of Importance Where Greatness Happens, (2001) was inspired by Emma and the authors grandmothers, such as Cleo Marler and Betty Kitson, who lived in Destin.
Both books will be available for purchase.
Emma’s story is told in interviews by those who remember Emma best, as the quirky and mysterious maid from Gee’s Bend, Alabama, and only negro living in Destin from 1955 until her departure in 1993.
Emma spent 38 years among Destinites, walking nearly everywhere she went to keep house and babysit for an astonishing number of families. Unlike the best- selling book, “The Help,” by Kathryn Stockett, this book is nonfiction, and mentions actual names.
Her good heart, hilarious truisms and eccentricities make her a memorable character. The author celebrates her friends long life ( she is 98), by delving into history as far back as the Congo in Africa and slavery, to the civil war to civil rights in Destin, to create a singular portrait from a generation of black American working women. All are welcome.
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The Destin History and Fishing Museum is located at 108Stahlman Avenue, behind Whataburger, just East of the Marler Bridge.
Admission is free. Refreshments will be available. Both books are available on Amazon.com for $14 and $15, US or CAN. Further book information and video, at
http://thehelpofdestin.blogspot.com and http://heiressarts.blogspot.com
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An unforgettable Character, an unforgettable Life. Emma Irby and her imprint on a growing Florida village called Destin.
