OBONO Our Family Stories

Every year, One Book One New Orleans selects a book for the entire city to read. I’ve told y’all about this before, how other cities have “one book” programs. And how Executive Director Megan Holt has taken the concept to a new level. She does more with her position than any other program I’m familiar with. A pillar of her work is to provide literacy services to those who need them the most. Another is to emphasize dialogue between diverse groups of people. After making the year’s book available to so many, the work culminates in December with one more offering. OBONO publishes a book written by adult learners based on that year’s selection.

Tran’s Inspiration

This year’s OBONO selection was Daughters of the New Year by E. M. Tran. Tran’s book is fascinating, a generational telling of a family that works its way backwards, beginning in modern times and returning to the deep past. Because of that focus, the book produced this year focuses on family too. The authors are adult learners at St. Vincent De Paul Adult Learning Center, YMCA Educational Series, and Youth Empowerment Project. The book is Our Family Stories.

Inspired by Tran’s generations, we meet family after family. In “Living the Dream,” by Charles Bartley we learn how an aunt’s decision to open her own restaurant affected the unrolling future of the entire family. Over and over again, we hear how extreme circumstances rattled families but also brought them closer together. Josh Sandifer says, “It showed me that people can change when influenced by pain or addiction, but it also showed me the value of healing and forgiveness.”

Power of Words

Every time I read work by writers who are taking the time to be honest, the power of their words floors me. “Professional writers” can be so proud of the words we craft. I guarantee you the images offered in this slim volume will haunt me as much as any of those crafted by known authors. Detta Henderson in, “The One They Called Kartrina” told of taking a Moses stick with her as she walked into the flooded city, searching for her son. In “Finding a home,” we move from Quelle Burbank “staying in the shelter that smelled like your local meat market” to finding a place where Burbank “painted the walls pink and gold and I have bed sheets to match.”

The language haunts as well. In “Tough Times Never Last, Tough People Do,” Jasmine Steverson writes, “I am trying to rebuild a life that was lost at birth.” In, “Grandparent’s Day” Paul Peterson writes, “The sound of children whispering in class and the sound of pencils writing. That was what I heard the day I visited the school for grandparent’s day.”

Immigrant families

We hear from writers who are immigrants, as are Tran’s characters. Of broken hearts for missing family and pride in being US citizens. The excitement of arriving in the US and passing along traditions. The difficulty of learning the language and the love of the United States. The sadness of taking one’s whole life in a suitcase.

Megan Holt, Executive Director of OBONO, explains about a special section of writers:

“There are pieces in Our Family Stories listed by title only, with no author’s name attached. These were written by adults learning the English language. While they did not feel safe revealing their names or attending the launch, they seized the opportunity to ensure that their stories would be in print, that there would be tangible evidence that they are here. Words fail me when I try to imagine how much courage it took for them to put pen to paper.”

“Our Family Stories” was produced in conjunction with National Council of Jewish Women Greater New Orleans. The work was published by Tubby & Coo’s Traveling Shop.