Seven years ago I wrote a fan letter to New York Times Bestselling author William Kent Krueger. I am a huge fan of his Cork O’Connor series and his beautiful book “Ordinary Grace.” I had noticed he was a keynote speaker at New England Crime Bake, a gathering for mystery authors. In the message, I asked (ok, groveled) if he would consider speaking at McArthur Library, since he was just a couple of hours south of McArthur Library. It was thrilling to receive a return message agreeing to the visit, for the hefty price of a lobster dinner. William Kent Krueger is a huge supporter of libraries and librarians. I am eternally grateful that he took time out of his very busy schedule to visit Maine.

Not every interaction with authors has been so delightful. Author Kerri Arsenault canceled a virtual visit at the very last minute when I explained that we did not have a lot of people registered for her talk. She said it was a “big ask” for her to spend her time with a small audience. The entire interaction left me feeling really awful and scrambling to contact disappointed readers. Recently, I reached out to Morgan Talty’s press people to invite him to Biddeford. If we pay the sum of $15,000 we can have him speak here. Needless to say, that is not within our budget at this time. And, no, that was not a typo, it was fifteen thousand dollars.

Of course Monica Wood is always amazing, gracious, poised and wonderful, there are truly not enough kind words to say about how she gives back to Maine libraries. She is a tremendous human. Kate Flora is also great to work with. Both of these authors took time out of their schedules to allow us to do virtual programming during the early days of the pandemic. We are eternally grateful for their kindness.

Then we have the author, Abdi Nor Iftin. [Insert a huge smile here.] While McArthur was still providing services remotely, the library worked closely with Elements to gather several copies of books to continue offering discussions remotely. After posting the selection, his remarkable memoir, “Call Me American” on social media, Abdi sent me an email. He asked if he could attend our meeting to chat about his book. In my many years of working with authors, this had never happened. And, it was truly a magical evening. Everyone was mesmerized by his candor and strength. It is an amazing biography written by an amazing person.

“Call Me American” is not an easy read, it can be heart wrenching. Here are some reviews:

“[A] wrenching yet hopeful autobiography… Iftin’s extraordinary saga is not just a journey of self-advancement but a quest to break free from ethnic and sectarian hatreds.”

— Publishers Weekly

“A searing memoir…that impressively remains upbeat, highly inspiring, and always educational.”

— Kirkus

“Absolutely remarkable and always as compelling as a novel… An essential immigrant story, one that is enlightening and immediate.”

— Booklist

“His survival against all odds story in an inspiring statement to his incredible determination and strength of character”

—Outside Online

Since that time, I have been wanting to put together a community read to share this work with a larger audience. Last year, we partnered with Elements, Banded Brewing and a local author on a very fun book event. This year we are excited to announce that we are again working together to host an evening with Abdi Nor Iftin to discuss “Call Me American.” The talk will be at Banded Brewing on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 6:30 p.m. Books are available at Elements or at the library. The event is free and open to the public, but we do hope you will support these local businesses who support the library.