Southampton Arts Center Presents Juana Libedinsky“Downhill: A Memoir of an Accident, Two Comas, Many Books, and Starting Over”
(Southampton, NY – September 2, 2026) Southampton Arts Center (SAC) is pleased to host journalist and author Juana Libedinsky to discuss her new memoir, Downhill: A Memoir of an Accident, Two Comas, Many Books, and Starting Over on Saturday, September 26th at 4:00 pm.
When a devastating skiing accident in the Patagonian Andes leaves Conrado, a New York lawyer at the height of his career, in a coma, it is not only his fate that hangs in the balance. His wife, Juana, and their two children have their lives upended overnight.
In Downhill (Urano Publishing; on sale September 22, 2026), Libedinsky tells the story she lived, tracing a journey from the vast stillness of the Andes to the fluorescent-lit hospital corridors of Buenos Aires and, eventually, to Manhattan and Southampton, where the family must learn how to rebuild a life when the crisis itself is supposedly over.
Much of Downhill unfolds in Southampton, where Libedinsky and her family spend their summers and where the rhythms of the East End - friends, ocean swimming, community, and summer life - become part of the family’s attempt to find normalcy again after the accident.
As she navigates coma care, hospital bureaucracy, and the challenges of rebuilding a family’s life across two countries, Libedinsky clings to a few anchors: an eclectic cohort of friends and neighbors, tennis, and books. Lots of books.
“Juana Libedinsky weaves a tale of trauma, perseverance and love using her sense of humor and the wisdom of other writers.", says Elyn Kronemeyer.
Told with the sharp eye of a seasoned reporter and a dry humor that surfaces in unexpected places, Downhill is ultimately a love story - to a husband, two children, books, community, and the stubborn belief that things will, somehow, be okay.
“Wrenching, suspenseful and sometimes even funny. A gripping true story of grit, terror and ultimately love.”, said Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing Up Bébé and The Monogamy Prize, One of Zibby Owens’ Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2026.
Books will be available for purchase and mate and Argentine bites will be served for guests to raise a glass following the talk.
Tickets will be available for $10 for members, and $15 for general admission.
Gallery Hours
Friday – Sunday | 12 – 5 PM
25 Jobs Lane Southampton, New York 11968
631.283.0967
Southamptonartscenter.org
For media inquiries please contact Sarah Gartner, Angelica Cuddy or Couri Hay at R. Couri Hay Creative PR T: 1-212-580-0835 E: Sarah@rcourihaycpr.com | Angelica@rcourihaycpr.com | Couri@rcourihaycpr.com
ABOUT JUANA LIBEDINSKY:
Juana Libedinsky is an Argentine writer and journalist based in New York. A longtime columnist for La Nación in Argentina and cultural correspondent for El País in Uruguay, she has also written for publications including Vanity Fair, Condé Nast Traveler, ForbesWomen and La Vanguardia in Spain. She is the author of widely acclaimed books in Spanish. Downhill, adapted from Cuesta Abajo—hailed by the press as “unputdownable”—is her first book in English. She is a graduate of NYU’s Cultural Reporting and Criticism Program, where she was an Arthur L. Carter Fellow, and a former Wolfson Press Fellow at the University of Cambridge. She teaches cultural journalism at the Universidad San Pablo CEU in Madrid.
ABOUT SOUTHAMPTON ARTS CENTER:
Southampton Arts Center is committed to community building through the arts. We present and produce inspiring, inclusive, socially and regionally relevant programs across all disciplines, welcoming and connecting with the diverse members of New York’s East End community and beyond. SAC is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.