one book many voices

one book many voices

Finding Your Past

Finding Your Past

, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
In A Chance in the World, this year’s One Book, Steve Pemberton recounts his history as an orphan in the foster care system. Untethered from any roots, he conducted a search for his birth family and located his grandparents and all four of his siblings, who had been fostered with different families.  The experience was part of a long effort to reconcile his personal identity. Most of us don’t face nearly the same challenge in identifying our family, but even so, how many of us can go much further back than our great-grandparents? Genealogy is the search for our roots, building a family tree of names, dates, and history that shaped how we came into this world. And it can … Continued
Foster Care Month

Foster Care Month

, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
May is National Foster Care Month, celebrated since 1988 in honor of people who care for orphaned and displaced children – from foster parents and their family members to child social workers to volunteers to mentors. In 2016, the theme of NFCM is family reunification – “Honoring, Uniting, and Celebrating Families.” Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, it highlights the needs of many children who, for whatever reason, do not have the security of a normal, loving family. A child might be in the foster system for many reasons – orphaned, abandoned, or their parents incapacitated in some way. Frequently, though, children entering the foster care system are victims of abuse or neglect, necessitating their separation … Continued
Positively Connecting with Positive

Positively Connecting with Positive

Frances Yates, Programs
The One Book 2015 selection is Positive by Paige Rawl. Paige conveys important messages about bullying, HIV, and overcoming obstacles in life. If you have not yet read the book, free copies are still available at the IU East Campus Library. Fifteen hundred books have been distributed to campus and community participants, and readers are engaging with the content in a variety of ways: • First year seminar students are discussing “differences” with clients of Independent Living Center, creating a scrapbook called “Paige’s pages,” and designing book covers with original art that reflect the themes in Positive • Nursing students are connecting book content with community outreach programs and writing reflections on the book’s content • Psychology students will lead a positivity workshop … Continued
Student Marisa Vanzant shares the message of Positive

Student Marisa Vanzant shares the message of Positive

, books, Bullying
The One Book, Many Voices program here at IU East continues this year with Positive by Paige Rawl. As a student and employee here at IU East, I am very excited for everyone to get the chance to read this important book, meet the author, share personal stories, etc. Not only is the story riveting, but it also has powerful messages that can be taken away by people of all ages and situations. Paige is an Indiana native and current college student, so students can definitely relate to her story, as well as anyone else who reads the book. Positive is a story of strength, dedication, struggle, and overcoming ignorance. There are extremely dark moments and extremely happy moments. You … Continued
One Book 2015

One Book 2015

, books, Bullying, Matt Dilworth, Programs
The campus One Book for 2015 has been selected – it is Positive by Paige Rawl. A powerful, visceral memoir of her life, it chronicles Paige’s life with HIV and her experiences with unreasoning hate and bullying. Students and staff can get their free, IU branded copy in the library, complete with a letter of introduction from Chancellor Cruz-Uribe. You can get a jump on fall semester and the events surrounding the One Book by reading it now. And it’s perfect summer reading – her prose is lively and quick and powerful. That’s not to say it is light reading, though – parts of it are very hard. When her HIV status is first betrayed by a friend. The relentless … Continued