The Silver Unicorn is partnering with Acton Pharmacy to present local authors and clinical psychologists Dr. Anthony Rao and Dr. Paul Napper. Their new book, The Power of Agency, provides readers actionable steps to create more agency and empowerment in their lives. Join us upstairs at Acton Pharmacy for an insightful conversation. 

More about The Power of Agency

From two eminent clinical psychologists, how to access your personal agency—your ability to create a meaningful life on your own terms—and adapt to living in “the age of overwhelm”

Described by the World Health Organization as the most anxious nation on earth, the United States finds itself living amidst a national epidemic. We struggle to keep clear minds and to think for ourselves, limiting our ability to make optimal decisions in our lives. Nonstop technology and an increasing focus on metrics and performance are part of everyday, and all of these things leave us feeling, in a word, overwhelmed.

Agency is the ability to act as an effective agent for oneself—thinking, reflecting, and making creative choices, and acting in ways that direct us toward the lives we want. Agency is what humans use to feel in command of their lives. For decades, agency has been a central concern of psychologists, sociologists, and philosophers seeking to help generations of people live in greater accord with their interests, values, and inner motivations.

Renowned clinical psychologists Paul Napper and Anthony Rao offer seven practices using mind and body to help you locate and develop your own agency. Based on years of research and real-world application, their methods equip you to succeed in a world requiring constant adaptation. Illustrated through the stories of people who have developed higher levels of agency, The Power of Agency gives you the skills and insights to do less and reflect more before making life choices—and plot the steps to create a life on your own terms.

Dr. Paul Napper leads a management psychology practice. His client list includes Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, universities, and start-ups. He held an advanced fellowship during a three-year academic appointment at Harvard Medical School (HMS).

Dr. Anthony Rao is a cognitive-behavioral therapist. For over 20 years he was a pediatric psychologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an instructor at HMS. In 1998 he opened a specialized private practice. He appears regularly as an expert commentator.

 

 

We invite you to join us for an unique celebration of food and fiction at Orange Door Kitchen.

Three local authors will sit down with guests for a delicious meal inspired by their recently published works. At the beginning of each course, the inspiring author will read an excerpt from their novel. Whitney Scharer will read from her novel Age of Light, Marjan Kamali will read from her novel The Stationery Shop, and Grace Talusan will read from her novel The Body Papers. After dinner, all are invited to linger over coffee for book signing and conversation. 

Described as a "radiant clash of romance and reality" by O Magazine, Age of Light is the highly anticipated debut novel by Whitney Scharer. The novel tells the true story of Vogue model turned renowned photographer Lee Miller, and her search to forge a new identity as an artist after a life spent as a muse. 

The Stationery Shop is Marjan Kamali's second novel and has been described by Kirkus Reviews as "a sweeping romantic tale of thwarted love." The novel introduces us to Roya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living in 1953 Tehran who, amidst the political upheaval of the time, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri’s neighborhood book and stationery shop.

The Body Papers is the winner of The Restless Books Prize of New Immigrant Writing. The memoir traces back to Grace Talusan's younger years. Grace was born in the Phillipines and moved with her family to a New England suburb in the 1970s, where she confronted racism at her new school as one of the few kids of color.   
 

MENU:
 

ONE // The Body Papers // Lumpia Shanghai (Filipino egg roll) with sweet and sour dipping sauce
 

TWO // Age of Light // Moules Mariniere with smoked paprika, tomato and feta

THREE // The Stationary Shop // Persian Spiced Chicken with jeweled rice

FOUR // Rose Cardamom Avocado Ice Cream with cinnamon pastry

Tickets include a copy of the novel of your choice plus non-alcoholic beverages and a four course meal prepared by Orange Door Kitchen. All three novels and alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.

Annie Cronin Romano returns to the store to read her latest book, Night Train: A Journey from Dusk to Dawn. 

What do trains do while we sleep?

This cinematic book takes readers along on a steam engine’s journey through the night, from a city to a small town. Varied landscapes as well as color shifts show the passage of time from dusk to night to dawn. The rhythmic text is perfect for bedtime reading, and train lovers young and old will appreciate the various railway details incorporated in the text and art. 

Night train
wakens
to the dusk,
groggy,
stretching,
load and roll,
load and roll.

Bringing warmth and wonder to the night, this book will send young readers off to sleep dreaming of the steady train journeying through the night.

Annie Cronin Romano is a speech-language therapist and blogger. She has her teaching certification in high school English and a master’s in communication disorders. Her group blog “24 Carrot Writing” focuses on writing strategies and motivating writers. She lives in Massachusetts.
 

Join us as educators and parents from the Infant Toddler Children's Center of Acton read their favorite books! A portion of the proceeds from the storytime will go directly to Infant Toddler Children's Center.

Come out for a fun day and support our schools!

Three authors in the store at once? What a midsummer treat!

We will welcome back Susan Tan, author of the popular Cilla Lee-Jenkins series! Susan was the 2015 Gish Jen Emerging Writers Fellow at the Writer's Room in Boston and recently released Cilla Lee-Jenkins The Epic Story in March. 

Two fantastic middle-grade authors will join Susan for this event, Jarrett Lerner and Rajani LaRocca.  Jarrett, who lives in Medford, is the author of 2018 Global Read Aloud finalist EngiNerds and its sequel, Revenge of the EngiNerds. Rajani is the author of debut novel Midsummer's Mayhem, which recently received a Kirkus Starred Review! 

We look forward to a fun, joyful, and lively event with these three authors!

We are excited to welcome author-illustrator Ioana Hobai to our store! She is going to read her brand new book, Lena's Slippers, which has just been released! 

Lena can’t wait to twirl and leap onstage at her school dance recital, but her family does not have the money to pay for new ballet slippers. As the day of the recital draws closer, Lena struggles to come up with a creative solution to reach her shining moment on stage, learning along the way that what you do is more important than what you wear. 

Ioana is the illustrator of Before You Sleep, which launched here at the Silver Unicorn in October 2018. Ioana grew up in Romania and lives in Massachusetts. After working as an architect for eleven years, she decided to return to her love of art and pursue children's illustration.

Massachusetts authors Elizabeth Bear and Cadwell Turnbull will be in our store talking about their new books and the craft of science fiction and fantasy! Cadwell will be sharing his debut novel, The Lesson, which is out June 18th. Elizabeth will be talking about Book Two of her epic fantasy Lotus Kingdoms series, The Red-Stained Wings. 

Elizabeth Bear is the two-time Hugo Award winning author of The Eternal Sky Trilogy and the Lotus Kingdoms series.  The first book in the series, The Stone in the Skull, has been described as a "glorious and dramatic story" by Publishers Weekly and "vivid, absorbing and thrilling" in a starred review by Kirkus Review. 

Debut novelist Cadwell Turnbull is the author of new sci-fic novel, The Lesson, one of the first science fiction novels to be set in the Virgin Islands. In their starred review of the novel, Publishers Weekly describes The Lesson as a "rich debut novel about family, love, and loyalty in turbulent times." The Library Journal takes it a step further by saying The Lesson is " a compelling tale of invasive occupation and emotional uprising, Turnbull's debut is complex and enthralling. It's a must for all libraries, and the writer, who crafts speculative stories with black characters on par with Octavia Butler, is definitely one to watch." 

Scott Magoon is coming and he's bringing lots of cool things with him! Join us as Scott reads his newest story, Linus the Little Yellow Pencil. 

Linus and his eraser, Ernie, don't always see eye to eye. But with the family art show drawing near, these two will have to sharpen their collaboration to make something neither one could do on their own!

Scott will be drawing and signing his books while he is at the store. He will also have Linus & Ernie action figures and bookmarks for giveaways! This will be a fun way to spend a Saturday morning!  

We're welcoming local author Gisela Hernandez-Skayne for a fun bilingual storytime event! Learn the alphabet in Spanish with Gisela's beautiful new book Aventuras con el Abecedario Book. 

Using alliteration as a fun learning device, each letter in this book features a story in Spanish and a beautiful illustration. Parents and kids alike can learn more about the Spanish language and work on pronunciation together! 

A native of Mexico, Gisela was educated in a German immersion program at a Swiss school in Mexico City, and is a fluent speaker of Spanish, English, German, French, and Polish.  For almost two decades, Hernandez-Skayne brought Spanish to life for all her students at the Fenn School in Concord, Massachusetts. Now, as the principal at Esperanza Academy in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Hernandez-Skayne continues to share her passion for language learning, as it broadens the understanding and acceptance of the varied cultures of the world.