Byrd’s Books in Bethel has been selected as the book vendor for “Newtown Talks: Conversations on Culture, Society, and Change,” a new series debuting at Edmond Town Hall this month.

Presented within the historic building at 45 Main Street, “Newtown Talks” is meant to bring all kinds of Newtown residents together to foster open conversation and inspire positive change within the community.

The series will open Thursday, October 24, with Sebastian Junger. The award-winning war reporter will discuss and sign his recent book, In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife.

It is being coordinated and hosted by Suzy DeYoung and Lee Shull, who told The Newtown Bee last month they were inspired by “The Brainstorm Experience,” a previous talk series Edmond Town Hall sponsored in 2017.

For years as a war reporter, Junger traveled to many front lines and frequently put his life at risk. Yet the closest he ever came to death was the summer of 2020 while spending a quiet afternoon at the New England home he shared with his wife and two young children. He suffered a ruptured aneurysm, had a conversation with his deceased father, and was told by medical personnel he should not have survived.

The near-fatal health emergency led to In My Time of Dying, a powerful reflection on death and what might follow. The book is part medical drama, part searing autobiography, and part rational inquiry into the ultimate unknowable mystery.

DeYoung said what she enjoyed the most about Junger’s latest release was “he doesn’t close the book with an answer.”

It’s open-ended so the reader can make their own decision about the afterlife, she said.

Junger is the New York Times bestselling author of Tribe, War, Freedom, A Death in Belmont, Fire, and The Perfect Storm, and co-director of the documentary Restrepo, which was nominated for an Academy Award. He is also the winner of a Peabody Award and the National Magazine Award for Reporting.

The program begins at 7 pm. Copies of the book may be ordered in advance through ByrdsBooks.com or purchased on the night of the event. Byrd’s Books is at 178 Greenwood Avenue in Bethel, across from the public library.

Books will be available in advance at the bookstore and the night of each program.

Lecture tickets are $35 general admission, $50 preferred seating and “Skip the Line” book signing, and available through edmondtownhall.org. For additional program information call 203-270-4285 or visit edmondtownhall.org.

“Newtown Talks” will continue with Dani Shapiro on November 21, Brian Reed on December 19, Anthony Edwards and Stephen Mills on January 16, and in March Tara Westover will also be visiting Newtown.

Byrd’s Books is a general bookstore that carries only new titles, with a special focus on Bethel authors, Connecticut authors, poets, publishers and illustrators. Being a member of the American Bookseller’s Association and its division Indiebound allows Byrd’s Books to participate in the larger community of book selling nationwide.