“The Glass Castle” Author Set to Visit ESU as part of One Book, One Campus Program

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania’s One Book, One Campus committee announced that “The Glass Castle” will be the selection for the 2017-18 common reading program, One Book, One Campus. The program, intended to promote deep reading, critical thinking and unity among members of the campus and local communities, is in its fifth year. Book discussions around themes of “The Glass Castle” will take place on campus throughout the fall 2017 semester and are open to the general public. ESU’s One Book, One Campus program will wrap up on Thursday, November 2 with a presentation by author, Jeannette Walls on campus.

“Representatives of ESU’s One Book, One Campus committee announced ‘The Glass Castle’ for our next book now to encourage individuals to add it to their summer reading lists,” said Doreen Tobin, D.Ed., vice president for student affairs. “We want the conversations about the book to be rich, meaningful and insightful. We envision community book clubs and neighbors getting involved in the discussions. I really believe our students benefit from those deep interactions. The more involvement we can generate, the more successful this program can be.”

The memoir, which recounts the unconventional, poverty-stricken upbringing Walls and her siblings had at the hands of their deeply dysfunctional parents, has been named one the “Top 10 Books of the Decade” by Amazon.com. This year, the powerful and inspiring story will be brought to the big screen in a highly anticipated major motion picture.

Andrea McClanahan, Ph.D., professor of communication, is the co-chair of the One Book, One Campus committee, which is comprised of faculty, staff and students. “The book is very relevant. At times, it can be an emotional read, but there is an underlying triumph. The Walls family is challenging, but loveable. The situations they encountered are traumatic, but there is a sense of hopefulness,” Dr. McClanahan said. “There are multiple takeaways from this book, and I think we are going to be able to incorporate them into discussions in the classroom and in the community.”

Walls will take the Pocono community inside her hard-fought journey as she delivers a compelling first-person testament of the various struggles and long-lasting emotional burdens of destitution when she comes to ESU on Thursday, November 2. She will appear in Abeloff Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Walls promises to ignite innate belief in possibility as she reveals how unyielding determination and hope for the future enabled her to overcome unimaginable obstacles. Her appearance at ESU to promote her autobiography will be one of only six this fall across the U.S. A limited number of tickets are now available for purchase online at esu.edu/onebook. These general admission tickets will be $30.00 each and the first 50 individuals who purchase a ticket will also receive a copy of “The Glass Castle.” All ESU students are eligible to pick up one free ticket on campus in the University Center with presentation of their I.D.

There are other great aspects about this year’s book selection. A major motion picture release of The Glass Castle is scheduled for distribution August 11 featuring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts.  Further, Additional book discussions will be announced for fall 2017. For more information about ESU’s One Book, One Campus program or to purchase the book online, visit esu.edu/onebook.

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