Can you imagine being disillusioned with the direction of your life and turning to writing instead? And what if your debut novel was picked by Oprah Winfrey as part of her hugely-successful book club? Would you still be disillusioned with the American dream?

That’s exactly what happened to Imbolo Mbue. The immigrant from Cameroon found solace in writing after losing her job in 2008. Her novel, “Behold the Dreamers,” takes on marriage, immigration, class, race and the trapdoors in the American Dream.

In addition to being chosen for the Oprah Book Club, she also won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. She’s speaking at Barnes and Noble in Folsom on August 16.