Washington Post arts editor Janice Page brings her debut memoir to the Milton Public Library on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m.

Page will discuss "Year of the Water Horse" in conversation with Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung, a former colleague from their overlapping years at the Globe. The Friends of the Milton Public Library are sponsoring the event, and registration is encouraged.

The memoir, published in December 2025 by Pegasus Books, chronicles Page's upbringing in a large Catholic family in Braintree and the part-time job at a Chinese restaurant that reshaped her life. Page first met her husband, James, while waitressing at Mandarin Garden, the only Chinese restaurant of its kind in Braintree, according to Milton Scene. James had just arrived from Taiwan.

The book traces their cross-cultural marriage across two continents and multiple generations, including the couple's adoption of a baby girl from James's ancestral region of China. The New York Times Book Review named it an Editor's Choice, calling it a colorful Massachusetts memoir with a cross-cultural twist.

In a January 2026 WBUR Cognoscenti essay adapted from the book's first chapter, Page reflected on a childhood memory with her mother: "It taught me how to listen and observe. It taught me how to construct a priceless day of memories for someone you love, even as a collateral objective."

Before joining the Washington Post in 2019, Page served as deputy managing editor for arts and newsroom innovation at the Globe. She was named the 2023 recipient of the Iphigene Ochs Sulzberger Residency at Yaddo, where she worked on the memoir, according to her literary agency profile.

Leung, a business columnist and associate editor at the Globe, hosts the Globe Opinion podcast "Say More" and contributes weekly to GBH's "Boston Public Radio." She has been a four-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Commentary.

Wednesday's conversation will also touch on the state of journalism, according to the event listing.

The Milton Public Library is at 476 Canton Ave. Registration and details are available at miltonlibrary.org/events/upcoming-events or by calling 617-698-5757.