Lost City Books is welcomes Michael Kaufman to discuss his new compelling thriller The Last Exit with local author Keith Parsons of the DC Poetry Collective.
About The Last Exit:
Set in Washington D.C. 20 years from now, climate change has hit hard, fires are burning, unemployment is high, and controversial longevity treatments are only available to the very rich. Enter resourceful young police detective, Jen B. Lu, and her 'partner', Chandler, a SIM implant in her brain and her instant link to the Internet and police records, and a constant voice inside her head. He's an inquisitive tough guy, with a helluva sense of humor and his own ideas about solving crimes.
As a detective in the Elder Abuse unit, Jen is supposed to be investigating kids pushing their aging parents to "exit" so they are eligible to get the longevity drug. But what really has her attention are the persistent rumors about Eden, a black market version of the longevity drug, and the bizarre outbreak of people aging almost overnight, then suddenly dying--is this all connected? Is Big Pharma involved?
When Jen's investigations of Eden take her too close to the truth, she is suspended, Chandler is deactivated, and her boyfriend is freaked out by "the thing inside her brain." This leaves Jen to pursue a very dangerous investigation all by herself.
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Michael Kaufman, PhD, is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction books. As an advisor, activist, and keynote speaker, he has developed innovative approaches to engage men and boys in promoting gender equality and positively transforming men's lives. Over the past four decades his work with the United Nations, governments, non-governmental organizations, corporations, trade unions, and universities has taken him to fifty countries. Michael is the co-founder of the White Ribbon Campaign, the largest effort in the world of men working to end violence against women. He volunteers as a senior fellow at Promundo (Washington D.C. ) and co-wrote its first State of the Worlds' Fathers Report. He advised the French government in 2019 and the Canadian government in 2018 as a member of their respective G7 Gender Equality Advisory Councils. In 2017 he was awarded Canada's Meritorious Service Cross.
Keith David Parsons (he/his) is a native of West Virginia, USA, living in Washington, DC, and less conflicted about it than you might think. He believes a poem without a message is like a big hole without spikes at the bottom—why would you dig it?
The Last Exit will be available at Lost City Books!