Michelle Freret Prather, author of a new book, My Family: A Window into the Secrets, Successes, and Sins of Early New Orleans and Beyond, will discuss it at 7 p.m. Monday, March 18, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.

This free event is part of the regularly scheduled meeting of the Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans.

The book is a collection of complex life stories that meander through 18th and 19th-century Louisiana. Patrons will meet free men and women of color, war heroes, a world-renowned scientist and Egyptologist, an internationally famous artist, a universal suffrage activist, an explorer turned spy, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, sugar barons, cotton factors, and slave traders. The stories of the Rillieux, Cantrelle, Verret, Jones, Bringier, and Freret families expose a past infused with honor and regret.

"Uncovering the stories of my family gave me a framework to better understand how my own life and choices are shaped by those same factors. Our human story is not singular and finite but rather an intricate, expanding mosaic,” Prather said. “My hope is that others will explore their rich family histories and realize that the story of each life gives us a new perspective on the past as well as on our own time."

Prather holds a master’s degree in Education in Curriculum and Instruction. She taught English and American History for 25 years.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.

Members of the Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans meet to discuss issues relating to genealogy in the area.