'What Endures' A Discussion Series led by Emily Archer

Feats of extreme physical endurance, technical challenge, and athletic skill make the news.  Those who scale the highest mountains, sail uncharted seas, and dive unfathomable depths are the stuff of legend and bestsellers.  But what about those whose marathons are hidden in hospital corridors or ordinary suburban living rooms, who climb their Everests unnoticed?  Perhaps you have known people who swim upstream through impossible illness, or who daily walk some wild unmapped path with their families.  What keeps their spirits alive?  How do they persist against the odds?  This winter you are invited to 'get the news' of extraordinary, ordinary people who meet their unsought human challenges with honesty, humor, and great presence.  Read a rich mix of poems, stories and essays, and come reflect together in this new three-part discussion series, held on Wednesday, January 18, Tuesday, January 31, and Wednesday, February 15, 2012.  This series is led by Emily Archer, long-time facilitator of public humanities programs, in collaboration with Ruslyn Vear, Head of Reference and Adult Programming at the Amherst Town Library.This program is part of our adult series of presentations entitled: The Human Spirit: Adventures and Challenges. 

All needed books and materials will be supplied for you by the library.