Author Event! The Tunnel by Tripp Friedler

Tripp Friedler, a local businessman, will discuss his new book, The Tunnel, at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 16, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.

This event is free of charge and is open to the public. There is no registration.

The Tunnel is a father's memoir about a family's odyssey through the world of serious mental illness. It is a story about the battles Friedler's son Henry fought with his parents, with various authority figures—including schools, teachers, and the police— and most importantly, the battles Henry fought with his own mind.

Henry's story takes place for the most part in Uptown New Orleans. He came from a well-educated and prosperous Southern family, the only son between two sisters. The memoir chronicles the way society views, treats, and even criminalizes the mentally ill. It is a love story of a husband and wife as well as a fractured love story of a father and son. 

Tripp Friedler is the president and CEO of Free Gulliver LLC, which provides strategic, financial and investment advice for businesses and individuals. He is the author of one previous book, FreeGulliver: Six Lessons in Life Planning. 

In 1986, Friedler formed the Young Leadership Council with a handful of other young business leaders. Today, the YLC boasts more than 1,000 members and has raised millions for charitable and civic purposes. Friedler has served as president of the Young Leadership Council, chair of he board of Isidore Newman School, and a board member of the Arts Council, the Contemporary Arts Center, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Advisory Council, and the Community Service Center. 

Appearing with Friedler is Nick Richard, executive director of the Southeast Louisiana chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization focused on building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.