This weekend I'll be headed for Davis, California, to receive the Friend of the Child Award from young child abuse advocates. The Courageous Kids' Network is a group of young adults who speak out about their experiences being placed with abusive parents by family courts. Now that they are out of abuseve homes, they are [...]
Today I've been working on my presentation for the Healthy Teen Network Conference in Anaheim on Thursday. But now that I've figured out how to get download photos onto this computer from my camera, I wanted to get up the pictures from the Instituto and CLA. Then, as I was working, I got an e-mail from Liz Bohm, one of the organizers of the event at Instituto Familiar de la Raza. Her description is so...
Finally, Internet access. Just because a hotel is pricey doesn't mean the wireless connection is free--or reliable. I'm at the California Library Association Conference in Sacramento, part of a mini California book tour. Tomorrow morning--after after the Beatty Award breakfast--I'll be setting up a poster session on Sexual Abuse in Young Adult Literature...
Today I am prepping for two events coming up, one at Instituto Familiar de la Raza in San Francisco's Mission District and the other one in Sacramento--the California Library Association's annual convention. The event at the Instituto is really something special...
There's a cool thing coming up. On Tuesday, May 2nd, at 9 a.m. PST, Jessie Dylan will interview me about Strong at the Heart on his show, The Good Life. You can hear it on Sirius Satellite Radio 114 or listen on the Internet. For a week following, it will be archived online. Here's a little taste of what I saw in Boston last week. Pretty amazing, isn't it. . .
Yesterday I flew in--and out--of Redding, California to give the keynote address at a Take Back the Day/Take Back the Night event. It was a day of contrasts that began when I flew from the fog bound coast (highs in the 50's) to Redding where the high was 91 degrees and sunny. My sun starved skin soaked up the vitamin D along the American River which was roaring. . .
Well, this is cool. I have an email from FSG, my publisher, that Strong at the Heart was chosen as a Skipping Stone Honor Book. Every year this multicultural children's magazine choses roughly ten books to honor and Strong at the Heart is one of them this year. The links aren't up yet, and I don't have more information, but when I do I'll post it here. Yesterday's event in Cambridge went so well despite the PowerPoint projector not . . .
The Harvard Take Back the Night Committee--as personified by Mallory Hellman--asked me to speak on survivor activism and my book. The event happened last night and it was great. We met in the Kirkland Junior Commons Room, a very Harvard venue with tall paneled walls, mullioned windows, wing backed chairs set in conversational clusters, and august portraits on the walls. A friend of my son Ben met me there early and helped with the set up chairs, screen and projector. . .
Last night I arrived from California, after three flights, lugging the world's heaviest carry-ons (ten copies of Strong at the Heart, just in case). You should see the absolutely amazing place Mallory Hellman, of the Take Back the Night committee, found for me to stay. The Preacher's Suite is at the top of Lowell House, a quintessential Harvard building of red brick with white trim and slate roof. Tucked up under the eaves is this eight bedroom suite. It's crazy with doors and passageways and interconnecting rooms. I've claimed a bedroom with windows on two sides connected to a study with desk, Chinese lamp, wing backed chair and ottoman. A nice little set up...
The live chat at Connect for Kids came off without a hitch. What a rush! People's questions popped up on my computer screen, I keyed in answers as quickly as possible and sent them off. The readership was great. Folks from all over the U. S. logged on and asked great questions. I got to most of them before the hour was up. You can read the transcript for yourself. . .