An Evening with a Book: Gabija Grušaitė discusses The Mycelium Dream

The New York Lithuanian Professionals Club, together with the New York Lithuanian Book Club, hosted a special evening with a Lithuanian writer, Gabija Grušaitė, and her book Grybo sapnas, now available in English as The Mycelium Dream (link).

It was an amazing evening filled with laughter and deep reflections — on identity, on language that imprisons and language that frees us, on generational traumas and their consequences, and on the invisible mycelium dream that connects and governs us all.

Gabija is a true global Lithuanian. After spending seven years in Malaysia, she now divides her time between London, Monte Argentario, and Pervalka. Her bibliography includes three novels and a children’s book. Across her works, Gabija explores existential experiences and the search for identity in a globalized world. Her latest novel, The Mycelium Dream (Grybo sapnas), became a national bestseller and has already been included in the Lithuanian high school literature curriculum.

The author returned to New York after seven years to participate again at the European Literature Night and kindly dedicated an evening to our community.

As one of our club members, Kornelija Juškaitė, beautifully said:

“A warm, sincere evening with the author Gabija Grušaitė. Her book Grybo sapnas became the core of a lively discussion about the relationship between humans and rationality, utopian futures, intergenerational connections, fears and traumas, Buddhism, and contemporary grammar. And, of course, about the mushroom that controls us all!”

We truly didn’t let Gabija go for a long time — we had so many questions: about the book itself, about her relationship with language and her characters, about the house at Pervalkos Street 31, as well as her reading recommendations and her creative work that transcends literature. We sincerely hope to welcome Gabija back to New York with her future projects!

Once again, heartfelt thanks to Gabija — on her short trip to New York, when she could have easily been swept away by the city’s own mycellium dream, she chose to gift us such a wonderful and inspiring evening.

Warm thanks also to Justas Janauskas for his company and engaging conversations, to our member Audra Mačiūnaitė for excellent moderation, to Natalja Daubarė for hosting us in the now-beloved Narbutas office, and to Valda Dasevičiūtė for the treats.

And, of course, thank you to all our club members and guests for joining us. How good it feels to be together with those who still read — and love — Lithuanian literature.