Introduced to American movies and pop music while growing up in Somalia, Abdi Nor Iftin fell in love with the idea of America long before he could find the country on a map. As the Somali Civil War broke out, Abdi grew desensitized to the violence around him: avoiding gunfire during his daily trip to

“I have a strong urge to write something that will change people. I want to create a piece so moving that people are in disbelief. And I want it to be like handing people a pair of glasses, giving them a way of seeing something they didn’t even realize they weren’t seeing.” —Mallory Smith   Salt

Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy has a powerful message and is a frequent choice for first year and community-wide reading programs. In his book, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative delves deep into the broken U.S. justice system, detailing his many challenges and efforts as a lawyer and social advocate, especially on behalf of America’s

Zachary Wood explains why he invites white supremacy apologists to his campus in this selection from UNCENSORED, excerpted at The Guardian.

Tara Westover speaks to students and teachers at the Academy of American Studies in Long island City, NY, about her memoir, EDUCATED.

Watch Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe in the new BOY ERASED trailer. Written for the screen and directed by Joel Edgerton, the film is based on Garrard Conley’s memoir.

Garrard Conley, author of Boy Erased, talks to Signature about finding his identity in small-town America, surviving gay conversion therapy, and being part of the LGBTQ community in today’s political climate.

Boy Erased will star a number of notable actors, both seasoned and new. Lucas Hedges, who appeared in the Oscar-nominated Manchester by the Sea, will star as the film’s young protagonist along with Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe as author Garrard Conley’s parents.

DePaul University Library’s Special Collections and Archives recently created a teaching kit for Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate by Sister Helen Prejean. The library houses Prejean’s papers and twenty primary sources were selected for the kit to deepen the reading experience.   Developed by members of DePaul’s College of Education, the

Writing for the popular film blog The Film Experience, Jose Solís interviews Sue and Saroo Brierley about their favorite moments in Lion, the Oscar-nominated movie adaptation of Saroo’s memoir, A LONG WAY HOME.

Garrard Conley, a survivor of the controversial “ex-gay” therapy movement, describes his traumatic experience as a gay man growing up in the South. In the years following his escape from extreme prejudice, he has learned one important lesson: compassion has the power to heal wounds, but it’s also one of the messiest human emotions.

War photographer Lynsey Addario’s memoir IT’S WHAT I DO will be read by the 2017 incoming Penn State class as part of the Penn State Reads program.