Kessler will discuss her newest book, “Counterclockwise,” which delves into the anti-aging industry.

MANZANITA — Lauren Kessler will read from her book “Counterclockwise: My Year of Hypnosis, Hormones, Dark Chocolate and Other Adventures in the World of Anti-Aging” at the Hoffman Center at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21.

“Counterclockwise” falls into the immersion journalism or guinea pig journalism categories that Kessler followed in two previous works. Not only does she do extensive research with experts, Kessler uses herself as a test case for much of the subject she’s writing about.

The Wall Street Journal chose “Counterclockwise” as one of “year’s best books for the road ahead.” Describing her book as informative and witty, the WSJ added, “journalist Lauren Kessler sets out to find ‘the best research and the worst scams in the wannabe-fountain-of-youth marketplace.”

Her previous works include “My Teenage Werewolf: A Mother, A Daughter, A Journey Through the Thicket of Adolescence”; Pacific Northwest Book Award winner “Dancing with Rose”; Washington Post bestseller “Clever Girl”; Los Angeles Times bestseller “The Happy Bottom Riding Club”; and Oregon Book Award winner “Stubborn Twig.”

Kessler has had articles published in nationwide publications such as The New York Times Magazine, O magazine, Utne Reader and more. She is a national speaker and workshop leader and director of the graduate program in multimedia narrative journalism at the University of Oregon.

Following Kessler’s reading and question-and-answer session, the Hoffman Center will host its popular open mic, where up to nine local writers will read five minutes of their original work. Admission for the evening is $7.

Prior to her reading, Kessler will teach a writing workshop on character development from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. “Characters propel plot. Characters make us care. How do you create living, breathing, believable — and memorable — characters? This workshop, for both fiction and nonfiction writers, explores the four main ways writers can create three-dimensional characters,” she says. Held at the Hoffman Center, the workshop is $50. Register online at http://hoffmanblog.org