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VPR's coverage of arts and culture in the region.

Author Chris Bohjalian Explores World Of Homeless Teens And Nuclear Disaster

Neal Charnoff
/
VPR file
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is Chris Bohjalian's 16th novel.

Author Chris Bohjalian has set his latest novel in Vermont.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands tells the story of Emily Shepard, a teenager whose parents may have been responsible for a nuclear meltdown in the Northeast Kingdom.

With the Kingdom now an off-limits radioactive zone, Shepard winds up orphaned and alone on the streets of Burlington.

The book delves into the world of homeless teens in the Queen City, where stealing, prostitution and drug use are the norm.

Bohjalian says the inspiration for the book came following a conversation with a therapist at Spectrum Youth Services in Burlington.

Bohjalian says his own 20-year-old daughter Grace helped him find the voice of a teenage girl. In fact, Grace ended up narrating the audio book.

Hovering over the novel is poet Emily Dickinson, a hero to the young and confused Shepard. Bohjalian says Dickinon's solitary life would have appeal to a lonely aspiring poet like his protagonist.

Neal was a reporter and VPR's All Things Considered host from 2001 to 2014. He joined VPR in 1996, hosting VPR's jazz programming, including live performances from the VPR studios and the Discover Jazz Festival. Prior to VPR, Neal was a programmer and host for WNCS in Montpelier and WDEV in Waterbury. He holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College.
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