On May 5, join us for a talk on The First Lady Next Door with Canadian-Icelandic author Eliza Reid, who from 2016 to 2024 was the First Lady of Iceland through her marriage to Icelandic President Guđni Th. Jóhannesson.

In early 2016, Eliza Reid’s biggest daily goals were modest but meaningful: showering without one of her four kids bursting into the bathroom, juggling clients without dropping a deadline, and growing the writers’ retreat she was building from scratch. What wasn’t on her bingo card? That her husband—a bookish, cardigan-wearing history professor—would run for president of Iceland … and, seven weeks later, actually win.

Suddenly, Canadian-born Eliza was catapulted into a new life as first lady of her adopted country with the eyes of a nation watching her every move—as someone’s wife. Absent an instruction manual (she googled how to curtsy before meeting the Queen of Denmark), she decided to do what she’d always done: figure it out on her own terms. Part fish out of water story and part fairy tale, The First Lady Next Door takes readers from rural Ontario to Timbuktu, and from the White House to Buckingham Palace. Eliza shows how embracing authenticity in all its messiness can becomeyour greatest strength, even when the world expects polished perfection. After all, our everyday moments are what create the road map for making the unexpected count.