#Visit Portland

Anna Boorstin was in conversation with Andrea Carlisle

Date: Tuesday, 11/4/2025

Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Place:

Broadway Books

1714 NE Broadway St

Portland, OR 97232

This event was so fun! Take a look at some of the photos from the evening.

DETAILS POSTED From Broadway Books: We are excited to welcome Anna Boorstin with her debut novel No Place Like. She will be joined in conversation with Andrea Carlisle, author of There Was an Old Woman: Reflections on These Strange, Surprising, Shining Years.

Lexie Brookner has somehow landed in an alternate version of her life. At first, the devoted grandmother and retired landscape architect brushes off the strange occurrences as signs of aging. Is she hallucinating? Has dementia crept in without her noticing? Determined to find answers, Lexie undergoes brain scans, sleep studies, and therapy, only to be told that her brain is perfectly healthy. But how can that be? Lexie's world is anything but normal. One day, she wakes to news of relentless terrorist attacks on American cities; the next, there's a mysterious extra room in her hallway or a completely different dog lounging in her living room. And, most disturbingly, her deceased husband and twin brother keep reappearing-alive-in a slightly altered version of her apartment. Her children are concerned, her boyfriend is frustrated, and only her dog remains impartial. The most improbable explanation seems to be the only one that fits: Lexie has somehow slipped into an alternate universe.

No Place Like uses the concept of the multiverse to explore Lexie's "what if" questions. What if her twin brother had survived? What if her husband, Simon, were still alive? But even if this new reality feels like a better version of her life, is there a price to pay for being here? And, more importantly, is there anyone who can help Lexie stay anchored in any universe at all?

Anna Boorstin cut sound on many classic films of the 1980's, including Real Genius, Clue and Beaches. She raised three sons, each taller than the last, volunteered in several capacities at their schools, and tended to dogs, lizards, hamsters and a sainted cat. Since her nest emptied, she has traveled extensively. Books have been a constant in her life ever since she was old enough to check out ten at a time from her local library.

Andrea Carlisle is the author of There Was an Old Woman: Reflections on These Strange, Surprising, Shining Years. In Spring, 2026, Oregon State University Press will publish a 40th Anniversary Edition of her fictional tales about life in a houseboat on an Oregon river, The Riverhouse Stories. Her work has been published in literary journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies, and by independent presses. Learn more at www.andreacarlisle.com