OCU BOOK DISCUSSION
WHERE THE HEART IS

 Image courtesy of OCU

 

 

From staff reports

 The Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma book discussion series at Oklahoma City University, will continue with “Where the Heart Is” by Billie Letts at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 in Walker Center room 151.

The discussion series is titled “Hope Amidst Hardship.” It is made possible through a grant from the Oklahoma Humanities Council.

Oklahoma-born Letts’ novel “Where the Heart Is” begins when a pregnant teenager is dumped by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart in a strange town. The book captures many of the seamier aspects of life in the state, but also highlights the willingness of its residents to help strangers. The homeless teenager experiences pregnancy and childbirth, abandonment, poverty and the devastation brought by a tornado.

At each session in the five-part series, a humanities scholar makes a presentation on the book in the context of the theme. Small group discussions follow with experienced discussion leaders. At the end, all participants come together for a brief wrap-up.

Those who are interested in participating are encouraged to preregister and borrow the reading selections and theme brochure by calling Harbour Winn at 405-208-5472, e-mailing him at hwinn@okcu.edu or dropping by the Dulaney-Browne Library room 211 or 207.

Winn, director of the Center for Interpersonal Study through Film & Literature at OCU, hopes the series will help participants find a “commonality of hope and perseverance.”

“Recognizing ourselves in others, even as we read of hardship, is a major reason we find reading enjoyable,” Winn said.  “Hardship comes in many varieties, and the books in this series offer varied examples but present a common theme: there is hope along the way. Sometimes this hope comes from deep within ourselves. Sometimes it comes from others in unexpected ways.”

Remaining dates and books in the series include:

Oct. 27 — “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd

Nov. 10 — “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom