Buchanan District Library hosts nationally acclaimed author

BUCHANAN, Mich -- Community-wide reading program is holding annual summer discussion that hits close to home.

This year's book is Alex Kotlowitz's The Other Side. The book was chosen because it is the 25th anniversary of its publication, and it literally hits close to home with its stories of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, just a short drive away from Buchanan.

One Buchanan, a community-wide reading program that asks participants to read a specially-selected book over the summer and then meet for discussion. The program is a partnership between the Buchanan District Library and One Buchanan, a local group with a mission to advance Buchanan as a city that welcomes and cares for all people irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Free copies of the books are given out each year for participants to keep.

“After choosing the book, we learned of the opportunity to have Mr. Kotlowitz involved in our program,” said Paulette Perez. “We are thrilled and honored to host him at One Book | One Buchanan this year.”

The event will take place on Wednesday, August 30 at 6 p.m. on the Buchanan Common at 122 Days Avenue Buchanan, MI.

About the book: The Other Side

Kotlowitz takes us to two towns in southern Michigan, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, separated by the St. Joseph River. Geographically close, but worlds apart, they are a living metaphor for America’s racial divisions.

When the body of a black teenaged boy from Benton Harbor is found in the river, unhealed wounds and suspicions between the two towns’ populations surface as well. The investigation into the young man’s death becomes, inevitably, a screen on which each town projects their resentments and fears.

The Other Side of the River sensitively portrays the lives and hopes of the towns’ citizens as they wrestle with this mystery–and reveals the attitudes and misperceptions that undermine race relations throughout America.