AUTHOR HIRED: Crystal Patriarche, BookSparks 170 hours: · Press materials pitched and galleys sent to online-only media, reviewers, and personal connections · Online-media pitching to various media outlets from consumer media to women’s media, publishing trade media and book reviews as well as essays, interviews placed · Pitching to author’s select local media outlets (short-lead media in local area/print, online—in all local markets where the author has lived) · National traditional media including print and online, including major newspapers, major magazines (print and online), as well as radio, TV, podcasts, and more (all media formats, coverage includes reviews, interviews, essays placed, and major media for several months) · A bigger content strategy to help place the author as an expert and get articles, excerpts, and more published around themes of the book and relevant news · Book influencer campaign / inclusion in huge seasonal reading challenges which includes celebs, brands, influencers, and tons of readers · Desk sides / call downs with all major media for additional follow-up · 1-3 events (virtual or in person or book clubs or IG Lives, etc.)
Gretchen Cherington’s first view of powerful men was informed at the feet of her father, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Richard Eberhart, and his eclectic and fascinating writer friends, from Robert Frost to Allen Ginsberg to James Dickey. As an executive management consultant, she figured out what made powerful men tick by working alongside nearly three hundred of them in their corner suites during her thirty-five year career. Her first memoir, Poetic License, has won multiple awards; her writing has appeared in Crack the Spine, Bloodroot Literary Magazine, Women Writers/Women’s Books, MS. Girl, Yankee and more; and she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize for her essay “Maine Roustabout” in 2012. Gretchen and her husband split their time between Portland, Maine, and a saltwater cottage on Penobscot Bay. Learn more at www.gretchencherington.com.
“A dazzling account that deftly combines crime, drama, history, and
introspective remembrance.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A fascinating story that will keep you captivated from start to
finish! Beautifully written with an attention to the details of
history, Gretchen creates a tale that brings the intriguing facts
of management, corporate greed, and the fate of Geo. A. Hormel &
Company to life.”
—Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach
and New York Times best-selling author of The Earned
Life, Triggers, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
“The Butcher, the Embezzler, and the Fall Guy comes to life
with its deeply personal exploration of the darkest chapter in the
130-year history of Geo. A. Hormel & Company. This marvelous and
meticulously researched book by Gretchen Cherington is packed with
arresting detail and personal insights. In her search for answers,
Cherington weaves a robust account.”
—Ben Welter, author of Minnesota Mayhem: A History of
Calamitous Events, Horrific Accidents, Dastardly Crime & Dreadful
Behavior in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes
“Gretchen Cherington is a bold, brave, and honest writer. Her
heartfelt search for family truths is always grounded in thorough
research and deep reflection. With both the clear-eyed perspective
of a consultant to CEOs and the compassion of a granddaughter able
to forgive human faults and frailties, Cherington skillfully
honors her grandfather’s legacy, while uncovering complicated
truths. A powerful and beautifully structured read.”
—Debra Thomas, Sarton Award-winning author of Luz: A Novel
“The Butcher, the Embezzler, and the Fall Guy is a compelling
book of family history, an urgent look inside the machinations of
wealth and power, and a wonderfully well-written journey into a
fully realized past. Cherington, the daughter of a poet and the
granddaughter of an astute businessman, wields the many elements of
her inheritance with grace.”
—Beth Kephart, National Book Award finalist and author of
three-dozen books, including Wife | Daughter | Self: A Memoir
in Essays and We Are the Words: The Master Memoir
Class
“What happens when we unravel family myths? In her newest
memoir, The Butcher, the Embezzler, and the Fall
Guy, Gretchen Cherington finds no easy answers as she unfolds
a true crime tale concerning a grandfather she never knew. As we're
drawn into this intricate story of high life and deceit in the
early 20th century, both author and reader wonder if Cherington’s
grandfather was complicit in an embezzlement scheme that rocked a
name-brand company. With characteristic honesty, and relevant to
readers everywhere, Cherington's powerful prose prompts us to look
at our own family stories in new ways.”
—Ashley E. Sweeney, author of Hardland
“Cherington’s The Butcher, the Embezzler, and the Fall
Guy combines what I love best about John Carreyou’s Bad
Blood and Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City—the
fascinating interplay of history, business, personality, and crime.
Not just what happened. But, why it happened, and why we ought to
care.”
—Shelley Blanton-Stroud, author of the Jane Benjamin Series
“In this fascinating historical memoir, Gretchen Cherington sets
out on a determined quest to discover why her grandfather, who
played a pivotal role in the early success of the Hormel meat
company, was ultimately forced out of the company. To understand
this pivotal event that forever changed her family’s fortunes,
Gretchen returns to her midwestern roots to uncover the truth about
the meatpacking industry and the powerful men who shaped it.
Engrossing me from first page to last, this is a compelling mystery
of corporate greed, family legacy, and a granddaughter’s search for
answers.”
—Laura Davis, best-selling author of The Courage to
Heal and The Burning Light of Two Stars
“Cherington dismantles myth after myth in this visceral and
emotional story, one complicated by family legacies large and small
that are twined by love and loss. At the book’s center, a small
town that orbits around buttoned-up businessmen and an industry
that feeds the nation’s bellies with slaughtered hogs.”
—Kerri Arsenault, author of Mill Town: Reckoning with
What Remains, a New York Times Editors’
Choice and Chicago Tribune Top Book for 2020
“A fascinating story in which the author captures the
texture of prosperous early twentieth-century upper–middle class
life in a Minnesota company town. Cherington seems to have it all
nailed down, but, at the end, a fresh discovery challenges her own
narrative. Finely crafted, this book is strong reporting and
reflects Cherington’s deep emotional ties to her quest for the
truth.”
—Steve Taylor, farmer, newspaperman, and longtime Commissioner of
Agriculture for the state of New Hampshire
“Cherington’s second book is a fascinating blend of history, family
biography, and personal memoir. Who knew the Hormel company's
history was so infused with drama and intrigue? Cherington is
a meticulous researcher with keen insights into human flaws and
subtleties, born of her professional training in consulting work.
She is also a woman on a soul-searching quest into her own family’s
shadowy past. A poetic sensibility infuses Cherington’s prose,
making this engaging, multi-dimensional story a highly compelling
read.”
—Robin Clifford Wood, author of The Field House: A Writer’s
Life Lost and Found on an Island in Maine
“Engagingly written, combining elements of history, memoir, and
mystery. This book is a delight.”
—Monica Wood, author of The One-in-a-Million Boy, When We
Were the Kennedys, and Ernie’s Ark
“I’m not often a reader of history, but The Butcher, the Embezzler,
and the Fall Guy, with its blend of fact and memoir and family
lore, kept me entranced. Through her vivid prose and clear-eyed
honesty, Cherington guides readers skillfully back to a time and
place that bustles with life—a trip I would take again and again
with this talented author.”
—Cheryl Suchors, author of 48 Peaks: Hiking and Healing in the
White Mountains
“A wonderfully written book with great backstory about the early
days at Hormel. The author treats her subjects fairly while shining
a light on misguided trust between friends, the importance of
innovation to leapfrog competitors, and the deep determination
needed to succeed.”
—David Barber, executive at Barber Foods
“With crisp writing and an eye for detail, Cherington masterfully
weaves a story of ambition, intrigue, and family legacy. Equal
parts mystery and memoir, Cherington’s curiosity takes her to the
farmlands and feedlots of southern Minnesota as she unearths
shocking and long-hidden details of this true-crime tale. I was
totally hooked.”
—Bob Keyes, author of The Isolation Artist: Scandal,
Deception, and the Last Days of Robert Indiana
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