Lee Child visited the Library on June 6th. His newest book is "61 Hours."

When Lee Child was here last Sunday to talk about his newest book in the Reacher series, 61 Hours, we had a standing-room only crowd for his most-excellent presentation. It was such an honor to host the #1 bestselling author, and it was made doubly (triply?!) satisfying because he was warm and interesting and funny and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. One fan drove from upstate Connecticut, through near-tornado conditions to see her favorite author. Attendance at the event was an early Father's Day surprise for another one of our visitors, whose family beamed as he was, indeed, delightfully surprised. 

Forgive us if we are still on a little bit of an author high ourselves. We are overjoyed that Lee agreed to make Darien Library a stop on his international tour. (Pause. Reflect. Sigh. Put feet on ground.)

For those of you who were here for the program, you'll recall that the author took a photo of the audience to post on his website. Well, post it he did! Here's the photo of us (at right) and you can read what he had to say on his tour blog by clicking here.

If you were unable to attend Sunday's smash event, below is the video of the author presentation. And if you were here for the event, we know that you know that you'll just have to watch it again to see if it really was as good as you remember. (It was!) 

Lee Child author of 61 Hours from Darien Library on Vimeo.

Author Julie Hersh visited Darien Library on Friday, June 4, 2010.

Last Friday, Darien Library held a special Meet-the-Author event with Julie K. Hersh, author of the recently released book, Struck by Living: From Depression to Hope. The book shares with great candour and humility the author's intense struggles with depression.

In this very eloquent, engaging, and entertaining presentation, Julie tells the story of her depression, the factors that contributed to the seriousness of her illness, and the controversial treatment, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), that aided in her recovery. She also shares practical tips for distinguishing between having a "down" day and being depressed, the additional factors that helped Julie achieve mental health again, and ways that you can to maintain your mental health, as well.

Julie K. Hersh author of Struck by Living from Darien Library on Vimeo.

For additional resources pertaining to mental health awareness in the local community, The Community Fund of Darien has published Creating Connections, a directory of mental health and support services for Darien. Click here to access the full directory. Specific hotlines within Darien that attend to mental health include:

Infoline: 211
Child Guidance: 888-825-6777
Family Centers: 877-349-4689

Here is part two of our College Admissions 101 series - Advice for the Student Athlete, held at Darien Library on Thursday, April 22nd at 7pm. Our panel of speakers, which combined coaches, parents of student athletes, and the student athletes themselves, offered great tips for navigating the process of choosing the right school and athletic program, getting recruited, and managing both the acacdemic and extra-curricular responsibilities of an athlete. Take a look at the video below, where you'll also find out why our panelists all agree that being a college athlete, whether in a division or through club teams, is an incredibly fulfilling experience!

Advice for Student Athletes from Darien Library on Vimeo.

Advice for Student Athletes Panelists:

John Keleher, Director of Athletics, Darien Public Schools

Mo Minicus, Darien High School Field Hockey Coach

Kelly Vegliante, Darien High School assistant coach and parent of a college athlete

Mary Bennett, parent of college athletes

Stephanie Janasiewicz, varsity soccer player, Purchase College

James Wyper, varsity runner, Yale University

 Also, click here to view part one of our series: The Admissions Process.

On April 1st, 2010, Darien Library held the first in a panel discussion series aimed at helping Darien students improve their college application packages.  The video is here, so if you missed the event, or want to hear our panelists' advice again, click below!

Remember, there is a second event in the series, Advice for Student Athletes, on April 22nd at 7 PM. 

College Admissions 101: The Admissions Process from Darien Library on Vimeo.

The Admissions Process:
Learn tips and tricks for mastering the college admissions process, find out about gap year options, and hear ideas about using social media marketing tools to enhance applications.

Panelists:

Lindsay Slattum Associate Director for Undergraduate Admissions, Fairfield University

Kristin White Author of The Complete Guide to the Gap Year

Paul Ribeiro Director of Guidance, Darien High School

Stephanie Klein Wassink Principal, Winning Applications, LLC

Chris Welles Feder from Darien Library on Vimeo.

David Baldacci from Darien Library on Vimeo.

A. J. Jacobs from Darien Library on Vimeo.

Jayanti Tamm from Darien Library on Vimeo.