Join us for important conversation around housing as Christine McDonnell, a prolific children’s book author and former educator at Rosie’s Place, discusses her latest book, Sanctuary: Kip Tiernan and Rosie’s Place, The Nation’s First Shelter for Women in Brewster Book Store’s “Secret Garden”.
Advance registration is highly suggested. Garden opens at 6:00pm, talk starts at 6:30pm followed by signing.
About the Book: Sanctuary: Kip Tiernan and Rosie’s Place, The Nation’s First Shelter for Women
Before Kip Tiernan came along, the US had no shelters for women. Here is the inspirational story of a singular woman and what her vision and compassion have brought to life.
“Justice is not three hots and a cot. Justice is having your own key.” —Kip Tiernan
When Kip Tiernan was growing up during the Great Depression, she’d help her granny feed the men who came to their door asking for help. As Kip grew older, and as she continued to serve food to hungry people, she noticed something peculiar: huddled at the back of serving lines were women dressed as men. At the time, it was believed that there were no women experiencing homelessness. And yet Kip would see women sleeping on park benches and searching for food in trash cans. Kip decided to open the first shelter for women—a shelter with no questions asked, no required chores, just good meals and warm beds. With persistence, Kip took on the city of Boston in her quest to open Rosie’s Place, our nation’s first shelter for women.
About the Author: Chris McDonnell
Christine McDonnell is the author of twelve books for children: picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult novels.
In addition to writing she worked as a children’s librarian at the New York Public library where she was trained by Augusta Baker and learned puppetry from Pura Belpré. In the Brookline (Mass.) Public Schools she taught grades 6-12, worked as a school librarian, and was part of the teacher training team at Facing History and Ourselves, a curriculum project focused on the Holocaust. At the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children’s Literature she designed community programs in children’s books and taught graduate classes in children’s literature.
A reviewer and critic of children’s books, she has written for School Library Journal, The Horn Book Magazine and The Christian Science Monitor. Her column, “New Voices, New Visions,” appeared in The Horn Book Magazine.
A graduate of Barnard College and the Columbia University School of Library Service, she received an MFA from Hamline University.
Garden opens at 6:00pm, talk starts at 6:30pm followed by signing.