Author, Advocate Pati Navalta Poblete To Speak At Benicia Library

From Benicia Library: As part of the Benicia Library’s 25th Anniversary celebration, local author Pati Navalta Poblete will discuss and sign copies of her book, “A Better Place: A Memoir of Peace in the Face of Tragedy.” This special event will take place on Thursday, May 31 at 7 p.m. in the Doña Benicia Room of the Benicia Public Library.

Poblete lost her 23-year-old son, Robby, in 2014 when he was gunned down in Vallejo. After the tragedy, she couldn’t sleep with the lights off or drive through Vallejo and she could not stop crying. Pati tried to find books that would help her through this traumatic time in her life. She wanted a book written from a mother’s point of view but the books she found were either very religious or self-help books. Poblete, who is a professional writer, decided to write her own book, to help herself and others deal with losing a child. She authored, “A Better Place: A Memoir of Peace in the Face of Tragedy.” Poblete refused to let her son’s death stop her from being an advocate and turned this tragic event into something that could help others. From the book: “Being still was the first step. This was the foundation I would need to deal with myself and everything around me." In 2017, Poblete founded the Robby Poblete Foundation, whose mission is to collectunwanted firearms though gun buy-back events and transform them into instruments of hope and opportunity through art and vocational skills programs. She used $150,000 of grant money to sponsor a Solano County Gun Buy-Back program. With the guns collected, the Foundation started Art of Peace with art created from dismantled weapons. These works of art were unveiled in Vallejo in mid-May, and will be traveling around the area.

The Benicia Public Library is very fortunate to have Poblete come to speak about her book and the foundation she formed. BookShop Benicia will also be at the event and Poblete will be more than happy to autograph copies of her book.

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