Eric Beck Rubin's TEN CLEAR DAYS In-Store Event And Book Signing

Join us at Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00 PM when Eric Beck Rubin comes to the store to present his new novel Ten Clear Days. Eric will be joined by Dan Alter and will sign copies of his book after the presentation.

Click here to order a copy of Ten Clear Days.

When Eric Beck Rubin's grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, requests medical assistance in dying, it divides her family. Over ten increasingly tense days, we come to know her story and its final outcome.

On a Tuesday night in August 2018, eighty-three-year-old Mary Beck is rushed by ambulance to the hospital. She wakes up to the news that her surgery was a success and her recovery is underway–but she doesn’t want to hear it. She had been preparing for her end. And with newly enacted legislation, she can demand it.

Before a decision can be made on whether to grant her request, a member of the non-medical hospital staff, “Au.,” is brought in to record the unfolding events. But what begins as an arm’s-length report during ten mandated days that Mary awaits her fate, soon turns into a sweeping examination of a life.

From her upbringing in pre-war Hungary and survival of the war, to the start of her new life in North America, Mary, along with her family and friends, tells the story of this complicated, forceful, fiercely loved person at every stage of her extraordinary life. A life she now fights to end on her own terms.

ERIC BECK RUBIN is a novelist and academic. His début, School of Velocity, was named one of the Guardian’s Books of the Year. He created and produced the Burning Books literary review and interview podcast, which ran for seven years. He teaches architectural and cultural history at the University of Toronto and collaborates with art galleries and architecture firms on exhibitions and design competitions. He lives in Toronto.

DAN ALTER's poems, reviews and translations have been published widely in journals including Field, Fourteen Hills, Poetry, and Zyzzyva. He is a 2026 Translation Fellow for the National Endowment of the Arts, a member of the Community of Writers at Olympic Valley, and holds MFA from Saint Mary’s College of California. . Dan works for the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at U.C. Berkeley.

THIS EVENT is free but registration is requested. Registration ends at 6:00 pm on October 28.

BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.

DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.

WALK-INS will be accommodated only if space allows.

WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:45 and 7:00 PM for the event.

PLEASE leave your non-support companion animals at home.

OUR shared restrooms are not accessible after 6:30 PM, please plan accordingly.