Gulf of Maine Books is hosting Maine author Penny Guisinger for a discussion on her new book at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 4, at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick.

Guisinger will speak about and read from hew new novel, “Shift: A Memoir of Identity and Other Illusions.” “Shift” is a love story — the story of Guisinger’s love for her wife, for her children, for herself and her love for the community around her in eastern Maine, even as they vote against the validity and legality of the family she loves.

Author Mark Doty calls this memoir “a terrific contribution to queer literature and a wonderfully fresh, irresistible delight.”

While following Guisinger’s journey, the story touches on life in eastern Maine, music theory, quantum physics, optical illusions, and the real struggle presented by a life of sexual and romantic fluidity.

“Coming out is like using a road map. It’s awkward and full of creases, and once you get the thing unfolded, you’ll never get it back in the glove compartment,” Guisinger said in a prepared release. “Coming out is not an act. It is a process composed of a thousand acts, a thousand conversations, it happens every day, every moment. Coming out is a road trip. Coming out is a choice to stop passing for straight. It’s a choice to join the resistance, to admit that you’re more than just a sympathizer.”

Morgan Talty, author of “Night of the Living Rez,” said he “loved every word” of “Shift.”

“Penny writes with such grace and honesty and love that you won’t want this book to leave your bookshelf, let alone your hands,” he said. ” ‘Shift’ is a stunningly powerful memoir.”

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