Cook Memorial to launch community reading program

October is Family History Month, and the Libertyville-based Cook Memorial Public Library District is celebrating with its third community reading program for adults and children.

The program is designed to bring individuals in the community together through a shared reading experience.

The launch of “United We Read: Everyone Has a Story — What’s Yours?” will feature local author Fern Schumer Chapman’s memoir, “Motherland,” and the historical novel “Is It Night or Day?”

“I’m honored that Cook Library District has selected my two books as community reads, and I’m particularly excited that they are encouraging patrons to discover their own family stories,” Chapman said.

Both books tell the story of Chapman’s mother, Edith, who was sent from Germany to Chicago at age 12 to escape the growing Nazi threat. Edith survived, but her family didn’t.

The pain of her loss and unwillingness to talk about her past deeply affected her children and grandchildren, and Chapman’s books were written, in part, to heal their pain.

“My memoir, ‘Motherland,’ is about learning about the early childhood experiences that shaped my mother’s life and how some of those experiences were psychologically transmitted to me,” Chapman said.

Several public programs have been scheduled, including:

Ÿ A kickoff party with storyteller Jim May at 2 p.m. Oct. 2 at the Aspen Drive Library, 701 N. Aspen Drive, Vernon Hills.

Ÿ An introduction to using the ancestry.com genealogy website at 7 p.m. Oct. 4 at the Aspen Drive Library.

Ÿ Family book discussions of “Is It Night or Day?” and “Motherland” at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Aspen Drive Library.

For information on these and other events related to the program, call (847) 362-2330 or visit cooklib.org.