Matthew Aldrich's THE NATURAL ORDER Launch Event And Book Signing

Join us at Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Tuesday, October 27 at 7:00 PM when local author and renowned screenwriter Matthew Aldrich comes to the store to launch his debut thriller The Natural Order. Matthew will be joined by Jason Headley for the conversation and will sign copies of his book after the presentation.

Click here to preorder a copy of The Natural Order.

Paul Whitmore, the world’s wealthiest man, begins each day on his secluded Marin, California, estate with a guided meditation, an hour of exercise, and a proprietary nutritional shake. These are the first three steps in a strict, monastic protocol known as the Method—a protocol which arrests the aging process. Paul is 122 years old, yet he appears no older than fifty; he has unlocked the secret to eternal life and is ready to bring his breakthrough to market. The world is poised to enter a post-aging future.

But not everyone wants Paul to succeed, and his enemies are prepared to use violence to keep the Method from launching. Alone in his private Xanadu, Paul is well-insulated from the steady stream of death threats. But when a new threat emerges that targets Paul’s estranged son, Max, he is forced to take action. Max is eighty-five years old, living in a nursing home, and has not spoken to his father since he was a child. As far as he’s concerned, Paul Whitmore can rot in hell. Paul brings Max to his compound to protect him, but the real test soon becomes clear: can he care for his son? Is it ever too late to be a father? Is it ever too late to be a son? Unfortunately, the answers to these questions require time—and time is suddenly in short supply. The men who have threatened his son are coming for them both, and the gates surrounding his compound are less secure than he realizes.

A page-turner with unusual depth and substance, The Natural Order grapples with issues of technology, mortality, and the true value of time.

MATTHEW ALDRICH, a renowned writer for film and television, is best known for cowriting Disney Pixar’s Coco, which won two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature. His screenplay also won top prize at the International Animated Film Association Awards and was nominated for the Humanitas Prize. The Natural Order is his first novel.

JASON HEADLEY co-wrote Pixar’s Onward and Lightyear and wrote and directed the SXSW Special Jury Prize-winning feature A Bad Idea Gone Wrong. His short films—including the viral videos It's Not About the Nail and F*ck That: An Honest Meditation—have been featured at Banksy's Dismaland, NBC's TODAY Show, SundanceTV, the TED Conference, Vimeo Staff Picks, and more. Jason is a Cinereach Fellow as well as a former IFP/Gotham Labs Fellow and member of SFFILM FilmHouse. He’s also been commissioned by Heineken, Sony, and Chrysler to write, direct, and produce original films

THIS EVENT is free but registration is requested. Registration ends at 6:00 pm on October 27.

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.