On the Same Page
About the Book | Programs | Book Discussions | Brochure
Every October, Bloomingdale Public Library, Itasca Community Library, and Roselle Public Library District hold On the Same Page, a collaborative, annual community reading event that features films, programs, and book discussions around one book. This year’s choice is Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro.
In September, complimentary copies of the book will be available at Bloomingdale Public Library (while supplies last). Roselle and Itasca will also have free books available; please contact them for giveaway details.
On the Same Page is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bloomingdale-Roselle, the Friends of the Bloomingdale Public Library, and Itasca Bank and Trust Co.
About the Book
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro
In the spring of 2016, through a genealogy website to which she had whimsically submitted her DNA for analysis, Dani Shapiro received the stunning news that her father was not her biological father. She woke up one morning and her entire history – the life she had lived – crumbled beneath her.
Inheritance is a book about secrets – secrets within families, kept out of shame or self- protectiveness; secrets we keep from one another in the name of love. It is the story of a woman’s urgent quest to unlock the story of her own identity, a story that has been scrupulously hidden from her for more than fifty years, years she had spent writing brilliantly, and compulsively, on themes of identity and family history. It is a book about the extraordinary moment we live in – a moment in which science and technology have outpaced not only medical ethics but also the capacities of the human heart to contend with the consequences of what we discover.
Find Shapiro’s podcast Family Secrets with Dani Shapiro through your favorite podcast provider! The podcast series – with over 30 million downloads – offers background to her best-selling memoir Inheritance and a collection of stories from guests who have discovered long-hidden secrets from their families’ past.
Programs - Full Brochure
On The Same Page programs that require registration are noted in the program description.
Make a Memory Frame
Roselle Public Library District
Monday, October 2 | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
In-Person Event
Register online or call 630-529-1641
You provide coins, pins, costume jewelry (plastic or metal), shells; the library will provide the materials to make a Memory Frame highlighting your treasured items. Program in collaboration with the Roselle Arts & Cultural Foundation.
Beginner’s Guide to Genetic Genealogy
Itasca Community Library
Thursday, October 5 | 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
In-Person Event
Register online or call 630-773-1699
DNA test kits are all the rage, but the results are often difficult to navigate. Katharine Korte Andrew will help us discover the value that DNA tests can bring to your genealogical research, the different types of DNA tests available, and how to use the results in your family history research.
Writing Your Memoir
Bloomingdale Public Library
Tuesday, October 10 | 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
In-Person Event + Zoom Webinar
Register online or call 630-924-2730
Have you ever considered writing about your own life? Professional author William Hazelgrove presents his best advice on how to research and write your memoir and get published. Books will be available for purchase and signed by the author.
Drop-In Movie: The Kids Are All Right
Bloomingdale Public Library
Wednesday, October 11 | 1:00 - 3:30 p.m.
In-Person Event, Drop-In
Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their biological father into their non-traditional family life. Rated: R
Drop-In Craft: Make a Family Scrapbook
Bloomingdale Public Library
Tuesday, October 17 | 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
In-Person Event, Drop-In
Drop in and make a family scrapbook with us, while supplies last. We’ll have all the supplies you need to start a family scrapbook project, but feel free to bring in your own photos, cards, paper, stickers, and family memorabilia.
Genealogy Club
Bloomingdale Public Library
Wednesday, October 18 | 6:30 - 8:45 p.m.
In-Person Event, Drop-In
Join us in person to learn about internet and archival genealogy and research support. Members share strategies and explore library resources with guidance from genealogy librarian Leslie Drewitz.
Cemetery Art Symbolism (Virtual)
Roselle Public Library District
Thursday, October 19 | 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Zoom Webinar
Register online or call 630-529-1641
Learn the rich symbolism displayed in cemeteries of the Victorian Era. During this time, headstone art was carefully chosen by family members to properly represent the deceased. Many clues about the lives of the dearly departed can be discovered by learning the language of cemetery art symbolism.
Chicago Genealogy Research (Virtual)
Itasca Community Library
Tuesday, October 24 | 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Zoom Webinar
Register online or call 630-773-1699
Sweet home, Chicago! Jaymie Middendorf will guide us in exploring the top resources for finding your Chicagoland ancestors, with an emphasis on available record sets, research strategies, important repositories, and more.
Drop-In Movie: Everything Is Illuminated
Roselle Public Library District
Wednesday, October 25 | 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
In-Person Event, Drop-In
A young Jewish American man sets out on a quest to find the woman who saved his grandfather in a small Ukrainian town that was wiped off the map by the Nazi invasion. Rated: PG-13
Dead People of Illinois (Virtual)
Bloomingdale Public Library
Monday, October 30 | 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Zoom Webinar
Register online or call 630-924-2730
Outdoorsman John Lynn is searching for dead people in all the right places! This “underground” presentation explores hundreds of Illinois cemeteries, which are home to interesting graves and headstones, intriguing lives and deaths, and lots and plots of funny names.
Book Discussions
Beyond the Library Book Discussion
Fox & Turtle Restaurant in Itasca
Monday, October 9 | 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Register online or call 630-773-1699
Between the Covers Book Discussion
Roselle Public Library District
Thursday, October 12 | 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Register online or call 630-529-1641