At the funeral of Charles Maddox, Theo Brown hears testimonies about his dead best friend’ s full, rich, glamor-filled life— stories that make Theo wonder if he really knew Charles, and if Theo himself has really lived. Trying to make up for his thirty-seven humdrum years, eager to help Charles’ s grieving sister, and wanting to find out what happened to his friend, Theo leaves his native Washington, DC on a journey of discovery, and self-discovery, among Charles’ s circle in New York. Part psychological realism, part detective story, Let Us Go Then, You and I explores the question behind the question: What is the best way to live in this world?
Clifford Thompson’s previous books include What It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man’s Blues and Jazz June: A Self-Portrait in Essays. His work has appeared in Best American Essays and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. He is the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award for nonfiction. Thompson lives in Brooklyn.
Thompson will be in conversation with David Nicholson, a former editor and book reviewer for the Washington Post Book World and author of Flying Home: Seven Stories of the Secret City. The New York Times praised its “sensitivity and grace,” and the Los Angeles Times included it on a list of books that “show us where to find the real America.” It was also featured in Publisher’s Weekly as one of “7 Essential Washington, D.C., Books (That Aren’t About Politics).” Nicholson attended Haverford College before graduating from the University of the District of Columbia. He studied creative writing at the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. Nicholson has worked as a reporter in San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Dayton, Ohio. He lives in Vienna, Virginia, with his wife and son.