In her work as a therapeutic musician, Robin Russell Gaiser provides live, one-on-one performances to patients in locations ranging from hospitals to private homes. That level of interpersonal connectivity holds true in other aspects of the Asheville resident’s life, including when she’s out having lunch. For the past 12 years, Gaiser has invited fellow diners whom she previously didn’t know to share her table and has written about a dozen such encounters in her new book, Open For Lunch. Though the strangers’ stories have been interesting enough to warrant typing them up, the conversations have also sparked significant personal reflection, turning her into what she calls “the reporter reporting on myself.” Gaiser will read from her latest work at Malaprop’s on Friday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m. Free to attend. malaprops.com. Photos courtesy of Pisgah Press
Smart Bets: Robin Russell Gaiser
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