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People can meet author as part of WMU Book Read

March 9, 2011

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KALAMAZOO--A meeting with a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and a discussion by a panel of experts are on tap as part of the College of Health and Human Services Book Read at Western Michigan University.

Photo of author Tracy Kidder and his book, Strength in What Remains.Members of the WMU and Kalamazoo communities are invited to take part in the fourth annual CHHS Book Read, this year featuring "Strength in What Remains" by Tracy Kidder. The Kalamazoo Public Library also is featuring the book in its Reading Together program from mid-February through mid-April. The college is collaborating with the library in the effort.

Meet the author
Thursday, March 10

People can meet Kidder during a question-and-answer session from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Thursday, March 10 in Room 1010 of the College of Health and Human Services Building.

Panel discussion
Wednesday, March 16

The public also is invited to an event titled "Medicine Here and Abroad," featuring a panel of experts discussing the challenges of providing health care to people in poverty, from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, in Room 1010 of the CHHS Building. Panel members are Dr. William Walker, of Kalamazoo Pathology Associates; Denise Bowen, WMU faculty specialist in physician assistant; Carmen Sweezy, of Kalamazoo County Health and Human Services; and Denise Crawford, of the Family Health Center. A reception will follow the panel discussion in the building's atrium.

In "Strength in What Remains," Kidder relates the inspiring American journey of Deogratias "Deo" Niyizonkiza and of the ordinary people who helped him, providing brilliant testament to the power of second chances. Deo arrived in the United States from Burundi in search of a new life. Having survived a civil war and genocide, he landed at JFK airport with $200, no English and no contacts. He eked out a precarious existence and eventually met the strangers who changed his life.

Kidder also is author of last year's CCHS Book Read selection, "Mountains Beyond Mountains." This year's activities also include an online discussion forum and Facebook chat in addition to the two public events.

The CHHS Book Read provides an opportunity for WMU faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members to use a common reading experience to foster discussion of key issues that impact health and human services at home and abroad. For more information, contact Dr. Richard Long, associate dean, at richard.long@wmich.edu or (269) 387-2540.

For more information on CHHS Book Read activities, visit wmich.edu/hhs. For more information on the Kalamazoo Public Library's Reading Together activities, go to kpl.gov.

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Media contact: Mark Schwerin, (269) 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu

WMU News
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Western Michigan University
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