Beth Macy, the Virginia-based best-selling author and sharp-eyed observer of the opioid crisis and other challenges facing rural America, will speak at Longwood University, a press release from the university cited.

Officials noted in the release that Macy’s recent best-seller, “Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America,” made The New York Times’ list of 100 Notable Books of 2018. It followed her widely acclaimed previous works, “Truevine” and “Factory Man,” which tell the story of John Bassett III, a third-generation furniture factory owner, and his efforts to save hundreds of jobs and his family’s legacy in southwest Virginia.

Macy, who was also an award-winning reporter for The Roanoke Times, will speak on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. in the Soza Ballroom of the Upchurch University Center, the release stated. Her talk, which is the second installment of the 2019-20 President’s Lecture Series, is free and open to the public.