Needham Connects... Building Empathy Through Books and Conversation – Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder

Please join us for a virtual discussion of Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder on Thursday, May 11 at 7 pm via Zoom.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder brings readers into a universe that is both urgently near and yet for many, feels hopelessly distant to help us better understand the journeys of some folks who “choose” to sleep “rough,” meaning without shelter. By following the critical work of Dr. Jim O’Connell and the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program he helped to establish, readers learn to question their own assumptions about people’s experiences and see health care giving through a unique lens. As a traditionally trained doctor, Dr. Connolly shares lessons he learned from trusted mentors like nurse Barbara McInnis who helped him understand the importance of human connection before trying to tackle vital signs, “you have to just be there and be present, and if need be, stand with them in the darkness.”

While not unrelated to the broader conversation in our society about “how to end homelessness”, Rough Sleepers brings us on a road focused not on policy changes and promises, but on healing the most vulnerable people in our communities. Tracy Kidder’s reporting will transform your thinking on homelessness and upend the assumptions you have about accessing healthcare in America. Kidder lets us get to know Dr. O’Connell and demystifies homelessness by introducing us to the people who sleep on the streets of Boston so that we can connect with our shared humanity. If you have ever walked by someone crouched in a doorway with a mountain of blankets and kept your gaze locked straight ahead, this book is for you. It is for all of us.

Rough Sleepers is available in print and as an ebook & digital audiobook on Libby. FREE copies are available to read and pass along at the Needham Free Public Library (on display by the Highland Ave. entrance)!

May's meeting will be a virtual program on Zoom. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link.

This event is co-sponsored by the Trustees of the Needham Free Public Library, the Needham Diversity Initiative, and the Needham Human Rights Committee.