(New York) – October 6, 2015. Atria Books will publish an intimate, personal memoir by the actress Marcia Gay Harden, winner of an Academy Award® (Pollock) and Tony Award (God of Carnage) and star of the compelling medical drama, Code Black, which premiered to more than 11 million viewers last week on CBS, it was announced today.

The yet-to-be-titled memoir, to be published in 2017, will be a lyrical, loving homage to Harden’s mother, Beverly Bushfield Harden, the Texas wife of a Navy Officer. While the family was stationed on a Navy base off of the coast of Japan, Beverly took up the Japanese floral art of Ikebana and stunned her family with her mastery of the arrangements, which transformed her soul and deepened her relationship with her children, giving birth to philosophies about nature and beauty that have persisted even through her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

With her signature strong storytelling, and her honest and humorous observations, Marcia Gay Harden will take readers through her uniquely affectionate yet intricate relationship with her mother, from the family’s journey’s abroad, to the actress’s flourishing career in New York and Hollywood, and, eventually, to Beverly’s struggle to maintain her identity as the tau protein of Alzheimer’s becomes the most ominous weed in the garden of her life.

Reflected in the flower arrangements that provide the basis for this story, and through different “seasons of life,” readers will witness the growth of this mother-daughter friendship, as Marcia does what Beverly can no longer do: she remembers.

Judith Curr, President and Publisher, Atria Publishing Group, and Rakesh Satyal, Senior Editor, Atria Books, acquired world rights, including first serial and audio, at auction from Lacy Lalene Lynch of Dupree/Miller & Associates.

“I am thrilled to be teaming up with Atria at S&S to bring the delightful and heartwarming stories of my mother to the page,” said Harden. “Their participation ensures dignity as we blend memories with the decline of Alzheimer’s while our readers discover my beautiful mother.”

“Publishing Marcia Gay Harden’s memoir at Atria gives us the opportunity to show readers that this uncommonly gifted actress is as entertaining and affecting on the page as she is onstage or onscreen,” Curr said.

“There is something uniquely special about Marcia Gay’s memoir that goes beyond the realm of celebrity. The mother-daughter relationship depicted here is by turns affectionate, hilarious, truthful, and heartwarming, and people everywhere will respond to the emotional resonance of this story,” Satyal said.

###

Atria Books is an imprint of Simon & Schuster, a part of CBS Corporation. Simon & Schuster is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Online, and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. For more information about Atria, visit our website at http://imprints.simonandschuster.biz/atria.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Paul Olsewski
VP, Publicity Director
212-698-7089
paul.olsewski@simonandschuster.com

For rights Information:
Lisa Keim
212-698- 7397
Lisa.keim@simonandschuster.com