The Abbot@Andover Committee warmly invites alumni, families, and friends of Andover to

A Virtual Conversation with Catherine Armsden '73

Author and Architect

Monday, March 25, 2024

7:00 PM to 8:00 PM ET

Catherine is the author of the novel, Dream House, and a memoir, An Alert, Well-Hydrated Artist in No Acute Distress (December, 2023). At Abbot, she developed a passion for expository and creative writing. "Writing was a revelation and a retreat from the agony and ecstasy of being a teen,” she says of her time at Abbot. Catherine is a graduate of Brown University ’77 and Harvard University Graduate School of Design ’84, where she met her husband, the late Lewis Butler, PA ’75. She and Lewis founded Butler Armsden Architects in San Francisco in 1985.

This conversation will explore how her work designing houses inspired Dream House, and how her 2009 Parkinson's diagnosis fueled a memoir that is a commentary on our healthcare system, a primer on Parkinson's disease, and ultimately, a celebration of the passion that drives us to create, no matter what life throws at us. You can read more about Catherine's books on her website. 

Questions for Catherine may be submitted upon registration.

Abbot@Andover Committee

Co-Chairs: Lori Goodman Seegers ’73, P’05, Anstiss Bowser Agnew ’67
Nathalie Taft Andrews ’59, Faith Barnes ’74, Martha Mason Denzel ’62,
Sandra Castle Hull ’58, P’81, ’84, Sara Ingram ’71, Noreen A. Markley ’73, P’11,
Priscilla A. Martel ’74, Mary F. McCabe ’71, Chandri Navarro ’82, P’15, 
Susan W. Peters ’75, P’09, ’12, Holly Robertson Taylor ’59