About the Book: From a double shotgun house in New Orleans comes a true story larger than life. Teresa Tumminello Brader, niece of the convicted art forger William Toye, retells her family’s experience as she discovers her uncle’s misdeeds after decades of secrecy. Personal reflections and newspaper records alternate with a fictionalized reimagining of Toye’s complicated life. On both sides of the story, what emerges is an attempt to honor Louisiana artist Clementine Hunter’s legacy without flinching from the painful realities that come from reckoning with family bonds. Empathetic and honest, Letting in Air and Light will inspire you to look more closely at your own history and wonder what else you might have missed.

About the Beverage: Teresa recommends pairing her novel with a Barry's Irish Breakfast Tea because “hot black tea at breakfast is my favorite way to start the day. (I have to specify "hot," because in New Orleans tea generally means iced tea.) While this particular breakfast tea isn't one I get to have often, it fits with my book's focus on my mother's family, which includes not only my notorious art-forger uncle, but their Irish father. In a city where everyone seems to drink coffee (which I don't like) in the mornings, seeing my grandfather drink hot tea upon awakening was a formative memory for me. In 1993 my mom visited her father's birthplace and brought back some Barry's tea for me, and I loved it.”

About the Author: Teresa Tumminello Brader was born in New Orleans and lives near Lake Pontchartrain; the city, the estuary, and its denizens are the source of much of her inspiration. Her stories, essays, poems, and reviews have appeared in print anthologies and online at Bulb Culture Collective, Literary Mama, Halfway Down the Stairs, MER, and others. She is the author of Letting in Air and Light, a work of hybrid memoir/fiction published by Belle Point Press (2023).

LETTING IN AIR AND LIGHT is available through any bookstore or bought directly from my publisher, Belle Point Press for $17.95.

FOLLOW TERESA TUMMINELLO BRADER
Twitter: @ttbrader
Bluesky: @ttbrader.bsky.social
Website: https://teresabrader.com/
Publisher: https://bellepointpress.com