“As families necessarily bond closely in this time of crisis, it is a moment to consider the very nature of the family unit,” said Cushing Public Library, in a news release.

 

The Library will present a five-book program of reading and discussion, “Re-imagining the American Family,” organized and sponsored by the Maine Humanities Council, beginning Thursday, Feb. 18, at 6:30 p.m., on Zoom. The discussion leader is educator Catherine Brewer.

 

The meetings will continue on further third Thursdays in March through May.

 

It is free and open to the public but limited to the first 20 registrants. For further information and to register, call Wendy Roberts at 207-691-0833 or email wrobertsmaine63@gmail.com.

 

The books selected are Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast, What Do the Living Do by Marie Howe and Brothers and Keepers by John Edgar Wideman. The Council is providing copies of the books, which will be available at the Library before the first session.

 

Catherine Brewer, a graduate of the University of Maine (BA and MA), happily lives in Aroostook County, according to CPL. She has taught English for grades 6-12 and now concentrates on alternative and adult education in the St. John Valley. She particularly enjoys one-on-one teaching and has found personal meaning in these books, selected by the program’s organizers to expand, challenge and complicate a vision of what constitutes the “American family.”  These writers individually endeavor to more fully understand themselves and the worlds they inhabit.