On Wednesday, May 14, the South Carolina Environmental Law Project will host a special book signing and luncheon from 12-2pm to celebrate New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe’s newest novel Where the Rivers Merge. The event is open to the public and will be held at the Oaks Dining Room at Belfair’s clubhouse, located at 200 Belfair Oaks Boulevard. This highly anticipated new book is a celebration of the land and spirit of the early twentieth-century Lowcountry and drives home the need to safeguard and protect it for future generations.
Tickets to the event are $125 and include a delicious lunch, a signed copy of the novel, the reading of an excerpt by the author and the opportunity to bid on naming a character in her next book. Purchase tickets or learn more by visiting scelp.org/events.
Sally R. Murphy, former wildlife biologist and author of Turning the Tide, praised the novel, saying, “Mary Alice Monroe takes us on an emotional journey with Eliza Rivers. Set in the grandeur of the ACE Basin in the Lowcountry at her home Mayfield Hall, young love, World War I, and the tradition of primogeniture test Eliza’s spirit and her family ties. Now in her late eighties, Eliza finally tells her story in order to pass on her devotion to Mayfield Hall and the wildlife it holds to a new generation. This is Monroe at her best.”
The luncheon is hosted by the South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP), a nonprofit public interest law firm that uses its legal expertise to protect land, water and communities throughout South Carolina, including in the Lowcountry. Proceeds from the event will benefit SCELP’s programs and legal work, which has helped protect some of the state’s most iconic and special places, like Captain Sams Spit on Kiawah Island, Bay Point Island in Beaufort County and the spectacular Angel Oak on Johns Island near Charleston.
“The South Carolina Environmental Law Project is thrilled to partner with Mary Alice Monroe to promote her anticipated new novel,” said Amy Armstrong, Executive Director at SCELP. “Mary Alice’s evocative storytelling combined with her love for the South’s lands and waters mirrors SCELP’s work, which uses our skills as legal experts to protect our shared love for South Carolina’s land, water and communities. Using the written word to change hearts and minds is something Mary Alice achieves through her literature. What an exciting synergy!”
Mary Alice Monroe
Monroe is a conservationist who has championed the rights of the natural world, as well as the work of SCELP and other environmental groups in the South. The coastal southern landscape in particular has become a strong and important focus of many of her novels. Where the Rivers Merge is set against the evocative landscape of the twentieth-century American South, and is a dramatic and sweeping multigenerational family story of unyielding love, lessons learned on the conservation easement process, profound sacrifices, and the indomitable spirit of a woman determined to persevere in the face of change in order to protect her family legacy and the land she loves.
“It’s an honor to partner with SCELP, bringing the community together with a shared love for stories, for the Lowcountry, and a passion to protect the landscapes and ecosystems that make our state so special,” said Monroe.
If prospective attendees have questions about the event or would like to purchase group tickets, they can contact the South Carolina Environmental Law Project’s Development Operations Manager Tara Stevenson at tara@scelp.org or (843) 527-0078.
The South Carolina Environmental Law Project is a nonprofit public interest law firm. We use our legal expertise to protect land, water and communities across South Carolina. Learn more at www.scelp.org.
