The Half Life with Rachel Beanland

The Half Life by Rachel Beanland is a novel set on a remote Italian island, about a navy wife’s reckoning with power, love, and the price of staying silent in the Atomic Age. I loved this book and reached out to Rachel and her team to see if we could do a special Drinks in the Library episode, I was thrilled when she said yes!

Rachel Beanland is the author of the novels, The House Is On Fire and Florence Adler Swims Forever. Her latest novel The Half Life, is coming out July 14, 2026, which is also the date this episode is airing, so if you are listening to this - go out and get a copy now!

Our drink this week is an Aperol Spritz, there is just nothing else that says perfect Italian summer at the beach!

Aperol Spritz

Ingredients

• 3 oz Prosecco
• 2 oz Aperol
• 1 oz club soda
• Ice
• Orange slice, for garnish

Directions

1. Fill a wine glass with ice.
2. Pour in the Prosecco, followed by the Aperol.
3. Top with the club soda.
4. Gently stir to combine.
5. Garnish with an orange slice and serve immediately.

Announcing a Patreon subscribers only episode coming out this week over at Patreon.com/DrinksintheLibrary, we will be discussing Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, so if you have been thinking about joining us over there, this is the time to do it!