EPCHS Alum Discusses New Book 'We Are Eagles' At EP Library

EVERGREEN PARK, IL —Author and award-winning journalist Anna Marie Kukec Tomczyk will discuss her new book, “We Are Eagles: Inspiring Stories of Immigrant Women Who Took Bold Steps in Life Through Literacy,” at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 21, at the Evergreen Park Public Library, 9400 S. Troy Ave., Evergreen Park.

Tomczyk, an alumnus of Evergreen Park Community High School and St. Bernadette, will talk about how she interviewed each woman and how they opened up about their hardships, boot-strapped their lives, and achieved great things. “We Are Eagles” focuses on Maribel, a domestic violence survivor, who raised a daughter while cleaning toilets for a living, then years later she ran her own business and a marathon. Juanita escaped stalkers by seeking a new life in America. Blanca rose from housekeeping to management before a corporate decision changed her life.

These are just a few of the immigrant women who changed their lives after learning English at the Dominican Literacy Center in Aurora, Illinois. Led by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, the center has become a safe haven for more than 25 years, where immigrants from about 30 countries have learned English. A second center is in Melrose Park.

The book is available online at Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com as well as in various stores, including Town House Books & Café in St. Charles; St. Peter’s Church in the Loop Book & Gift Shop, 57th Street Books and The Seminary Co-op Bookstores, each in Chicago. A portion of the profits from this book will be donated to the Dominican Literacy Center to help support its literacy mission.

Visit the Evergreen Park Public Library to register online.