Posts Tagged ‘Beverly Public Library’

Holiday Concert

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

I’m back in California after staying with my sister Deanna and her family for a few days in their home near Boston while I read from Mamalita at two Borders Bookstores and the Beverly Public Library. Being home with my own family is wonderful, but it means I’m on a coast opposite from my sister. That’s never easy.

But we have great memories, one of which was attending the annual Holiday Pops Concert performed by the Melrose Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1918, the Melrose bills itself as the “oldest continuously performing volunteer orchestra in the United States.” The company is headquartered in Melrose’s downtown Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, a splendid building dedicated in 1912 to honor veterans of the Civil War. The Hall’s grand pipe organ, dedicated in 1919, commemorates those who served during the World War I. (more…)

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Beverly Public Library in Beverly, Mass.

Friday, December 10th, 2010

Last night, I got to read at the Beverly Public Library in Beverly, Massachusetts. It’s a beautiful building, made with the kind of thick, heavy stones that are designed to last. Outside, the air was frigid, but in the meeting room downstairs, the ambience was cozy and warm. My sister, Deanna, her husband David, and their three girls were there, as were an adoptive mom with her son born in Guatemala, a woman who leads art tours and volunteers at Hermano Pedro in Antigua, and a mother to two girls from China. One couple was considering adoption and wanted to hear what I had to say. Others knew adoptive families. Some people had read the book and loved it. A handful were simply curious. Everyone was incredibly nice.

A local independent bookstore, The Book Shop of Beverly Farms, supplied copies of Mamalita, and my sister Deanna sold every one of them. Thanks, De! Thank you, too, to Anna Langstaff, Assistant Director of the Beverly Library, for setting up the lovely event, for posting it on the library website, and listing it in the local newspaper.

Hearing other people’s stories and thoughts about adoption has been a profound experience. I feel very privileged.

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