Hello! Welcome to Consumed by Books. My name is Liz and I am a twenty something Children's Librarian who works at a public library in D.C. Obviously, reading is one of my biggest pasttimes. I love to read young adult fiction, but I also read books for all other ages. I also review picture books, middle grade, and young adult novels for School Library Journal, but you won't find those reviews here. That said, I like to write! In addition to writing reviews, I occasionally do a bit of creative writing, but I'm not sure if any of it will ever see the light of day.
When I'm not writing and reading, I enjoy cooking, baking, running, cycling, and watching t.v. and movies. I currently live with my boyfriend and our two cats.
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My book "Home of the Brave" came out Jan. 26 and that weekend was the No. 1 new release in Amazon's military families category. Vincent Bzdek, editor-in-chief of The Gazette in Colorado Springs, says of my book: “All of us who live in communities with a large number of vets can come away from this tale inspired with ideas about reaching out to our soldiers.”
ReplyI recount in the book how a small businesswoman in a small town started a project now called the Welcome Home Alliance for Veterans. The businesswoman, Melanie Kline, was inspired after watching a 2011 CBS Sunday Morning segment on wounded vets learning to kayak. Kline became determined to do something to help a population facing high rates of suicide, divorce, homelessness and unemployment.
In just a few years, Welcome Home attracted the support of others in Montrose, Kline’s Colorado town of 20,000. Welcome Home hosts a biannual outdoors festival that brings vets from across the country to hunt, fish and kayak. It helped Montrose and its surrounding county develop a white water river park they hope will boost local tourism. It organized internships that offered young wounded vets a chance to consider what they would do with the rest of their lives. At its volunteer-run drop-in center, vets can get a cup of coffee along with counseling and advice on jobs and training.
Kline, who has no military experience herself, built a partnership between civilians and veterans that has energized an entire town and could be a model for other communities across the U.S.
Here’s a link to an excerpt the Gazette ran:
http://gazette.com/colorado-author-writes-of-womans-welcome-home-montrose-center-for-vets/article/1620302
I'd love to send you a PDF for review purposes.
Donna Bryson
[email protected]
donnabryson.com