LGBTQ advocate to give author talk at Jesup – Mount Desert Islander – Mount Desert Islander

BAR HARBOR — Author Marpheen Chann will talk about his book, “Moon in Full,” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 16, at the Jesup Memorial Library.   

June is LGBTQ Pride Month at the Jesup. Chann’s book is a contemporary coming-of-age story about a young man’s search for truth and compassion in a complicated era and the challenges of finding one’s authentic voice and true identity. 

Chann, a second-generation Asian American, recounts a story that has roots in the Cambodian genocide and weaves through troubled familial relationships, housing projects, foster homes, churches and college life, as well as rural Maine where he struggles to reconcile his fears and beliefs as a young gay man of color adopted into a white Evangelical family.  

While Chann examines the frustrations and the emotional toll “the system” can take on neglected children of all ethnicities, his memoir also serves as a testimony to the graciousness of those who understood, accepted and helped him realize and express his true self. 

Chann is a Portland-based writer, speaker and advocate. In 2014, he was the first of his biological and adoptive families to graduate college. He studied political science, philosophy and economics at the University of Southern Maine, where he helped start the Queer Straight Alliance. He also graduated from USM School of Law and cofounded the Cambodian Community Association of Maine. 

This event is cosponsored by Sherman’s Books and copies of Chann’s book will be available to purchase at the event or at any Sherman’s locations. 

To attend either in person or virtually, register at www.jesuplibrary.org/events/chann or email [email protected].  

In-person programming at the Jesup will be determined by COVID-19 levels in Hancock County. An email will go out to all registrants a few days before the event to update the status of the in-person event. 

 

 

Favorite