Selected as a New York Times Most Anticipated Book of the Summer, What Happened to Paula is a riveting investigation into a 50-year old murder case, long gone cold. Dykstra began her research wondering why no one had been held responsible for the mysterious death of Paula Oberbroeckling, an 18-year-old from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As she uncovered the circumstances of Paula’s life and saw the parallels in the lives of so many women--even in her own--the question became, “how much control do women really have over their bodies and the direction of their lives?”

Captivating and expertly crafted, “What Happened to Paula” is part true-crime story and part memoir, as well as a timely and powerful look at gender, autonomy, and the cost of being a woman.

Dykstra will appear in-store to sign copies of What Happened to Paula the following day, Thursday, June 17 at 3:00 pm.

Katherine Dykstra is a writer, editor, and teacher and holds an MFA in creative writing from the New School. She served as senior nonfiction editor at Guernica for many years and taught narrative nonfiction in NYU’s continuing studies program. Her essays have been published in The Washington Post and Poets & Writers, among many other publications, as well as the Random House anthology 20 Something Essays by 20 Something Writers. She was recently named an “artist to watch”  by Creative Capital, and What Happened to Paula has been selected as a New York Times Most Anticipated Book of the Summer. She lives in Montclair.

Carolyn Murnick is a veteran magazine editor and the author of The Hot One: A Memoir of Friendship, Sex, and Murder, recommended by NPR, Entertainment Weekly, and Elle, and named a Best Book of the Year by Buzzfeed and The New York Post. She received an Emerging Writer Fellowship from the Aspen Institute and her personal essays have appeared in numerous anthologies including Lost & Found: Stories from New York. She lives in Brooklyn.

Katherine Dykstra, "What Happened to Paula"