VCPI to join VT Reads with VHC for 2021

The Cooperative has partnered with the Vermont Humanities Council for “Vermont Reads 2021.”

This year, along with communities across the state, VCPI is reading We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra, a novel in letters. It tells the paired stories of two very different teenage boys who are initially reluctant to participate in a pen-pal assignment from their high school English teacher, but ultimately grow well beyond the boundaries of the school project to reveal earth-shattering revelations about themselves and their families.

The novel contains many strands relevant to current community conversations including economic disparities, how veterans return from war, domestic violence, opioid addiction, bullying, and coming out. But lest it sound too heavy, it is also a beautiful story of friendship, poetry, coming of age, and aspiring to move beyond social expectations.

VCPI is hosting a virtual book club during Winter 2021-22 for Northern Vermont University students, faculty, and staff. Please contact VCPI for more information about registration - the program is free!

This is a book is a book that definitely contains multitudes. It is about love, friendship, survival, loss, grief, bullying, family/domestic violence, a veteran’s PTSD, and a growing relationship between two boys. We are aware that for some participants, these multitudes may be challenging. VHC has partnered with area organizations to offer helpful resources - click here. Many families in Vermont are struggling to recover from the devastating effects of addiction to alcohol, heroin, methamphetamines and other drugs, just like some of the characters in We Contain Multitudes. Addiction is a disease, not a personal failing, and there are many community resources that can help families struggling with the impact of this epidemic. Find support about resilience here, as well as information on dating/sexual/domestic violence here, and explore related literature, articles, and film here.