Tues. Jan. 9

 If you're of a certain age - well, that could be many ages - the name Sedgwick probably means something to you. The first Sedgwick to cross our path was not early Speaker of the House Theodore Sedgwick - we're not that old! - but the doomed and drugged-out '60s legend/casualty Edie Sedgwick - the first "It" girl? Fame, depression, creativity, burnout, low-self esteem/large ego substance abuse. They're all linked, at least sometimes. Certainly, John Sedgwick - author of "The Dark House" and "The Education of Mrs. Bemis" -  found that out writing "In My Blood: Six Generations of Madness and Desire in an American Family." Well, he knew it before he started to write, certainly, but he was moved to delve deeper into his troubled Boston Brahmin past when he, too, sank into a life-threatening depression while writing his second novel. You can hear Sedgwick discuss this and the attributes and afflictions of his family at the Emmanuel Church in Boston, presented by the Harvard Book Store and the Massachusetts Historical Society. The talk is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday Jan. 9. Admission: $15. 

15 Newbury St., 617-646-0560 masshist.org/events