Evanston Public Library to host author event on Nov. 14 with Jill Vanneman, daughter of former mayor

The Evanston Public Library is hosting an author event with Jill Vanneman to talk about her new book, The Perfection Campaign: A Daughter’s Search for Acceptance . It will take place from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, in the Community Meeting Room (107) at the Main Library, 1703 Orrington Ave. Vanneman, author of The Perfection Campaign , was born and raised in Evanston. She was the ambivalent beneficiary of overachieving, very capable, civic-minded parents who wanted above-average children who would go on to do great things. Find out what happens when she feels stifled by the very success of these overachieving parents and of the community that raised her. Learn how shame can devastate a life defined by expectations, and how Vanneman found her way to her own authentic self. Vanneman will be in conversation with Evanston therapist Priya Kapoor. The two will discuss the ways that high expectations and lack of acceptance can lead to shame, how struggling to accept oneself can contribute to depression and disconnection and how to move from shame to a place of authenticity and self-worth. Vanneman, the daughter of former Evanston Mayor Edgar Vanneman Jr., is a former prosecutor and police legal adviser, as well as a legal adviser for a major city’s planning and development department. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Whitman College, a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a J.D. from the University of Puget Sound. Her short fiction has been featured in True Stories (Volumes IV, V and VI) and Oaxaca: A Wayfaring Writers’ Anthology . Her nonfiction work has appeared in publications such as the Citizen Patriot, Miles City Tribune, Livingston Enterprise and Focus Midwest. She lives in the Seattle area with her aging tuxedo cat Pablo and her rescue dog Honey. Kapoor is a therapist of 20 years who has worked with individuals aged 3 through adulthood, supporting them through family and relationship challenges, identity formation and transitional life periods. She has spent her career helping people find and live their own values, while addressing the shame and trauma of many members of marginalized communities. Register for the event here . Related Stories