La Cañada Flintridge Orthopaedic Guild (LCFOG) will host its annual Book and Author Luncheon on Oct. 23 at the La Cañada Flintridge Country Club. The local Guild is one of five that supports the Orthopaedic Institute for Children (OIC) where no child is turned away or refused treatment because they are underinsured or have no insurance. A recent study showed that children with private insurance see a specialist in less than a week while children with public insurance can wait up to four weeks or longer for an appointment. The Downtown Los Angeles Urgent Care Center and Outpatient Surgery Center is a state-of-the-art facility where children are treated by world renowned doctors using the latest equipment to provide the very best pediatric orthopaedic care.

The Book and Author Luncheon is one of the ways LCFOG raises funds for OIC to continue the medical care it provides to children who sustain orthopaedic injuries or are born with orthopaedic conditions such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy or pediatric arthritis.

This year’s luncheon is being co-hosted by Joan Cleven and Marie Gilhooly. Preparing for the annual luncheon involves every one of the 18 guild members. Book and Author co-chairs Arlene Massimino and Wendy Nicoll met with authors and announced the speakers for this year’s event.

Author Karin Esterhammer said she was born in a “backwater town” in Portland, Oregon where it rained “throughout her entire childhood.” She earned a degree in journalism with thoughts of a long, enduring career. Early in her career, she wrote for several tiny newspapers across the country. Esterhammer also worked for the Los Angeles Times for 15 years as an editor, writer and travel columnist. She has published essays in the books, “Chocolate for a Woman’s Spirit” and “Chocolate for a Mother’s Heart.” She has written for other prestigious magazines and newspapers. She will present her book, “So Happiness to Meet You,” which recently won the Nautilus Book Awards Silver Medal for 2017.

Anne Wheaton, the author of “Piggy and Pug,” began a lifelong commitment of adopting rescue animals when, at age 5, an orange tabby cat followed her home from a friend’s house. The cat’s owners had moved away and left the cat behind. As the cat was out looking for a new family, he met Wheaton and her family became his new family. As an adult, she worked 17 years as a hairdresser. When she retired from that career it was to focus full time on her true passions, her love of rescue pets and helping her fellow humans. She has supported the Pasadena Humane Society (PHS) and SPCA for the past eight years. She has served as a director on PHS board for the last four years. Wheaton has also served as an ambassador for National Women’s Health Week through the U.S. Health Dept. Office on Women’s Health. She is committed to adopting rescue animals and at the present time shares her home with her husband and three rescue pets. She has two grown sons who are pet lovers also.

Chris Erskine is a nationally known humor columnist and a features editor and writer for the L.A. Times and lives locally in La Cañada. He is a writer who mines the rich worlds of fatherhood, marriage and suburbia. He writes wise, wry and witty essays on fatherhood. His wife and children have annotated his essays with updated commentary. The very best of these witty and wise essays can be found in his recent book, aptly called “Daditude – the Joy and Absurdities of Modern Fatherhood.” Every week in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and other papers, Erskine mocks and makes readers laugh at the absurdities of modern fatherhood. Al Michaels, legendary sportscaster, said “Chris Erskine hits nothing but home runs. His work is replete with wit, context, perception and almost always a healthy dose of compassion. I’ve loved his columns for years. You will, too.”

Keynote speaker for the Oct. 23 event is Jennifer Kumiyama, singer, performer and motivational speaker. When she was younger and a patient at Orthopaedic Institute for Children, she received surgery and care to help her live a higher quality of life. She gained confidence to pursue her dreams. Guests will marvel at her story.

Guests are encouraged to come early to make their book purchases and have them signed by the authors before the program starts.

The event is by invitation only. Anyone who is interested in attending the luncheon, hearing speakers and authors, bidding on a silent auction, or having the opportunity to win special prizes is asked to contact Marianne Jennings at (818) 398-7323 to request an invitation be sent to them.

La Cañada Flintridge Country Club, 5500 Godbey Drive, La Cañada