Finley’s Fiction helps launch ‘All Happy Families’

On August 11, a large group gathered at Finley’s Fiction to congratulate Island resident and author Jeanne McCulloch on the publication of her memoir, “All Happy Families,” recently published by Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Ms. McCulloch is a former managing editor of The Paris Review and a former senior editor of Tin House, which has nurtured the early careers of authors such as David Foster Wallace, Ann Patchett and Jeffrey Eugenides.

Largely set in East Hampton in the 1980s, her memoir opens with the story of her beachfront wedding to her first husband, Dean, and goes on to wrestle with issues of familial piety, privilege and the unseen pitfalls of “having it all.”

The event was part of Finley Fiction’s “Local Author” series, which brings in authors with ties to Shelter Island and the East End for book signings and readings.

Finley Shaw, the owner of Finley’s Fiction, hosts the book signings because, she said, “It’s a way for the community to come together and local authors to get their new books out in the world.”

In the past, Ms. Shaw has hosted signings for sisters Elizabeth and Carrie Doyle, the Hamptons residents behind the “Junior Lifeguard” series and the “Hamptons Murder Mystery” series, respectively. She has also hosted a signing for Cristina Alger, another Hamptons resident whose thriller “The Banker’s Wife” was recently featured on Entertainment Weekly’s “11 Hottest Summer Thrillers” list.

Ms. Shaw was introduced to Ms. McCulloch through a mutual friend. After reading “All Happy Families” in a day and “absolutely loving it,” she quickly invited the author to make an appearance at her shop.

“It’s such a bittersweet story, especially in terms of having grown up in Manhattan and East Hampton in the late 70s, early 80s,” she said.