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Join alumni friends from the Harvard Club of the Hudson Valley for a book reading and conversation between Cynthia McVay, ’83, and Mary Rasenberger, JD ’89, CEO of the Author’s Guild, about Cynthia’s recent book, A Field of My Own: A Memoir of Place, in her barn-home on Field Farm. Reception to follow.

A FIELD OF MY OWN: A Memoir of Place

Written and Photographed by Cynthia McVay

Pull on your boots and take a walk with Cynthia McVay and her dogs— consummate hosts and guides, in a riveting landscape rife with adventure and discovery. In A Field of My Own: A Memoir of Place, lifelong creative and environmentalist McVay chronicles her intimate, two-decade relationship with a flagging orchard in the Hudson Valley. As a single working mother, she was looking for a weekend escape from New York City, a piece of green, a place to call her own. One blustery winter day, she falls in love with a meadow and her life is forever altered. She renovates the modest cottage, builds a pondish-pool, creates pollinating, native gardens from orphans and strays, learns to forage and runs the tractor. A decade in, as architect and general contractor, she moves an enormous 180-year-old hand-hewn Amish barn to the property to make her sustainable home. Snarky contractors, an alcoholic partner, puzzling neighbors, concerning caretakers, black rat snakes and coyote chases are minor setbacks; each day brings joy and serenity. This engaging memoir of place is generous and honest, packed with useful know-how and humor. McVay’s writing is vibrant and her photos evocative. An ode to the Hudson Valley, a coming-of-middle-age story, and something of a Do-It-Myselfer, A Field of My Own makes a wonderful edition to your own library or a perfect gift. 


CYNTHIA McVAY was a strategy and management consultant for McKinsey and independently for two decades, advising household names, non-profits and startups. Fifteen years ago, Cynthia returned to writing short stories, poetry and essays. Her award-winning work appears in dozens of literary journals and anthologies. She served as Latin American Program Officer for the World Wildlife Fund and inaugural Director of Innovation for the Peace Corps. She holds a BA from Harvard in biology and studio arts, and an MA in international studies from the University of Pennsylvania and MBA from Wharton, as a Fellow of The Lauder Institute. Cynthia serves on numerous boards including the Rauch Foundation, Center for Large Landscape Conservation, Harvard Club of the Hudson Valley and John Burroughs Association. She splits her time between the Hudson Valley and St. Croix, USVI.

MARY RASENBERGER is the CEO of the Authors Guild and Authors Guild Foundation. Prior to joining the Guild in November 2014, Mary practiced law for over 25 years in roles that spanned private practice, the government and corporate sector, as a recognized expert in copyright and media law. From 2002 to 2008 Mary worked for the U.S. Copyright Office and Library of Congress as senior policy advisor and program director for the National Digital Preservation Program. Immediately prior to coming to the Guild in late 2014, Mary was a partner at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, and previously Counsel at Skadden Arps, where she counseled and litigated on behalf of publishing, media, entertainment, and internet companies, as well as authors and other creators, in all areas of copyright and related rights. Earlier in her career, Mary worked at other major New York law firms and for a major record company. Mary is a frequent speaker, lecturer and writer on copyright law and authors’ rights. She is on the Council of the American Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Section; an Advisor to the Executive Committee of the Copyright Society of the USA; a founder of Copyright Awareness Week, and an Adviser to the American Law Institute’s Restatement of Law, Copyright. Mary received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.A. in Philosophy from Boston College, and her B.A. from Barnard College.