WMRA Books & Brews

WMRA’s April Books & Brews
will feature Stephen Starring Grant, author of MAILMAN: My Wild Ride
Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home.

Tuesday, April 14, 2026 at 7pm.

Our
conversation will take place live at Pale Fire Brewing Company in
Harrisonburg, and will be available to watch later on WMRA’s Youtube
Channel.

Signed copies of MAILMAN will be available at the event and online at Stone Soup Books – https://www.stonesoupbooks.net

WMRA’s
Books & Brews is made possible thanks to our series sponsor, Gaines
Group Architects. The Gaines Group has offices in Charlottesville and
Harrisonburg.
About the Book

An exuberant, hilarious, and
profound memoir by a mailman in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia,
who found that working for the post office saved his life, taught him
who he was, gave him purpose, and educated him deeply about a country he
loves but had lost touch with.

Steve Grant was laid off in March
of 2020. He was fifty and had cancer, so he needed health insurance,
fast. Which is how he found himself a rural letter carrier in
Appalachia, back in his old hometown.

Suddenly, he was the guy
with the goods, delivering dog food and respirators and lube and
heirloom tomato seeds and Lord of the Rings replica swords. He
transported chicken feed to grandmothers living alone in the mountains
and forded a creek with a refrigerator on his back. But while he carried
the mail, he also carried a whole lot more than just the mail,
including a family legacy of rage and the anxiety of having lost his
identity along with his corporate job.

And yet, slowly, surrounded
by a ragtag but devoted band of letter carriers, working this different
kind of job, Grant found himself becoming a different kind of person.
He became a lifeline for lonely people, providing fleeting moments of
human contact and the assurance that our government still cares. He
embraced the thrill of tackling new challenges, the pride of
contributing to something greater than himself, the joy of camaraderie,
and the purpose found in working hard for his family and doing a small,
good thing for his community. He even kindled a newfound faith.

A
brash and loving portrait of an all-American institution, MAILMAN offers
a deeply felt portrait of both rural America and the dedicated (and
eccentric) letter carriers who keep our lives running smoothly day to
day. One hell of a raconteur, Steve Grant has written an irreverent,
heartfelt, and often hilarious tribute to the simple heroism of daily
service, the dignity and struggle of blue-collar work, the challenge and
pleasure of coming home again after twenty-five years away, and the
delight of going the extra mile for your neighbors, every day.