 My Road to Reading
I am 21 years old, I live in Central Hainesville, NB with my mom and dad. I was born with spinal meningitis and had a stroke while I was being born. I had to have several shunts, and these required many operations. When I was in elementary school, someone from district office told my parents that I probably would be unable to learn to read and that I would just get frustrated if we continued in this area. I had teacher assistant help, but the school system just didn’t have the resources to give me the instructions that I needed. We never gave up and I always worked hard to learn to read. When I was in high school, I even attended after school tutoring. Because I had a good memory, I would often memorize things that I wanted to read aloud. For example, I am very active in church and love to read scripture, so I would have someone read the section to me, and I would repeat it phrase by phrase. My goal was to improve my reading so that I could read my bible. I heard about Laubach Literacy NB’s adult reading program and I liked the fact that it was free. I had no idea at the time that I wouldn’t have to pay for tutoring. I also liked the fact that I didn’t have to travel outside of my community. I met with a Tutor Coordinator and the Tutor in October of 2000. We chose Wednesdays at my house to get together. We used the voyagers program which I found easy and interesting. I have now completed three levels and am in my fourth, there are nine levels. I plan to continue until I finish all the levels. Improving my reading skills has done a lot for me. Within two years, I was able to read scripture during my sister’s wedding ceremony. I now read scripture at home and at church in front of an audience. I also read novels. I am more confident, not just in reading, but in general. If I hadn’t started with the Laubach Tutoring, I would still be at a low reading level instead of improving everyday.
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 Have you ever taken the time to think about what success means to you? Is it a multitude of wealth, health and/or happiness? Is it the result of many years of blood, sweat and tears rather than targeted achievements?
In recent years, with all the advances made by technology, we often hear that we must work smarter not harder. It’s true that times have changed and we now have several tools and resources at our disposal to help get things done faster and better than ever before. The problem, even within the scope of the technical advances, is that we don’t always feel successful and many times, we judge ourselves by saying things like; “I should be further along at my age.”, “I should have done more with my life.”, “If I did (fill in the blank), I could have (fill in the blank).” The truth is that YOU were born to succeed: We all were. Success doesn’t have to feel like such a far reach either. Many of our adult learners feel this way, and we like to encourage them to take it one lesson at a time, one day or even one hour at a time. A few questions you might want to ask yourself as you work your way toward a successful day and life are:
What if starting today, you were to look at success through a new pair of lenses. Imagine taking life one hour at a time or one lesson at a time. Every time you complete a specific task, celebrate and be grateful that you have the skills you need to succeed. Make note to always celebrate every success no matter how big or small they may be! Do this and watch how the energy in your life shifts towards a successful outlook. Remember that if literacy is one of your challenges, there are many resources available, including Laubach Literacy NB. In just one hour a week for 24 weeks, you can change your life. Just one day can put you on the road to success.  My name is Pam and I am extremely proud to be the daughter of a very dedicated adult learner. I hope that this letter will demonstrate why my mother, Rollande, deserves recognition. In her early years, her primary focus was ensuring that my brother and I were provided with all of the opportunities to obtain a quality education. All of the sacrifices she made have contributed to the successful adult I have become. My mother has finally found an opportunity in her life where she can focus on making her dreams of reading a reality. I take pride in her courage to follow her dream at the age of fifty-eight by starting her literacy program at Adult Literacy Fredericton. I have witnessed her successfully complete many levels of this program in a short amount of time. In June of 2014, my mother received a 2014 Sheree Fitch Adult Learner Scholarship Award. In just nine short months, my mother was able to write an essay that described her challenges and her inspiration to join the Laubach Literacy NB organization. The pride I saw in my mother that day will carry with me for the rest of my life. This success has come with many challenges and with hard work, which needs to be celebrated. The dedication she demonstrates to her literacy program and her determination to continue her journey of improving her literacy skills is very impressive. It is my hope that you will help me celebrate and recognize my mother’s accomplishments. This recognition makes all of the challenges she has faced with her literacy journey worthwhile, and provides her with the confidence to recognize that her dream of reading is a true attainable reality.  If you know of someone who may be struggling with literacy, tell them they’re not alone and encourage them to contact us at Laubach Literacy New Brunswick.
PHONE: (506) 384-6371 TOLL FREE: 1-877-633-8899 EMAIL: info@llnb.ca You will be directed to a community-based literacy council who will assess your learning needs and pair you with a trained LLNB “Each One Teach One” tutor.  Have you ever had that feeling of “Not Fitting In”? You know, when you are sitting in class and you try not to have eye contact with the teacher so she picks someone else to answer a question. Some of us know that feeling all too well. How about being in a social setting and shying away from commenting because of the lack of comfort with the subject matter?
Have you ever let an opportunity pass you by at work because of the fear of learning something new or the fear of asking for help? Just imagine going through life not wanting to make eye contact, sharing your opinion, or letting opportunities pass you by just because asking for help feels embarrassing, weak or triggers fear-based emotions. If this resonates with you, you may suffer from FOAFH: Fear of Asking for Help. OnPoint Leadership says this is a common condition and we know from experience that this happens all too often. In a recent Facebook post, we shared five things that could make you feel more comfortable asking for help if you live with FOAFH; read on to learn more. CHANGE THE WAY YOU DEFINE ‘ASKING FOR HELP’ AND WATCH YOUR WHOLE PERSPECTIVE CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. When reaching out for help, what if instead of saying “Can you help me with…?” You said:
Try these statements on for size right now, just to see how they make you feel.
As adults, we like to have control over our lives, we are hardwired to want to be independent. We don’t want to be perceived as being needy, come across as incompetent or let others see how ashamed we might be. Regardless of how you ask for help, at Laubach Literacy NB, our response is always – Sure, we can help you with that. It’s not just our mandate to do so, but our greatest joy to help. You will find our phone lines are always open, and when you are ready, we will be there.  If you google “summer reading lists”, you will find quite a few, but we thought we’d share with you our favourites. To do so, we reached out to our community, our board and our regional councils to see what books they might recommend. Now, we have our own 2020 Laubach Literacy NB top 24 summer reading collection.
With this list, you can discover reading genres that will peak your interest and provide an escape from the stress of everyday life. Through the pages of any book, you get to take your mind to new places, relax your body (by lowering your heart rate and easing the tension in your muscles), and feed your soul through imaginary worlds full of passion and charm. No matter where you go this summer, here are some really great books to take with you: FROM THE ASHES By Jesse Thistle – In this extraordinary and inspiring debut memoir, Jesse Thistle, once a high school dropout and now a rising Indigenous scholar, chronicles his life on the streets and how he overcame trauma and addiction to discover the truth about who he is. BURIED TO THE BRIM By Jenn McKinlay – New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's beloved Hat Shop duo Scarlett Parker and Vivian Tremont return to don their sleuthing caps and solve a murder that's death in show. PUMPKIN SPICE PERIL By Jenn Mckinlay – In the twelfth Cupcake Bakery Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay, the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew follows the clever crumb trail of a killer who's anything but cookie-cutter. THE LITTLE DOCTOR By Georges Simenon – A collection of short stories about a country doctor who discovers he has an aptitude for detection, and who likes it. A WALK IN THE WOOD By Dr. Joseph Parent and Nancy Parent – Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear Named Pooh offers life lessons grounded in the simple act of slowing down, observing what is around us, and being present in our lives moment by moment. The benefits of mindfulness are well recognized: greater peace of mind, less stress, and the opportunity to work through and transform thoughts, memories, and worries. NICE GIRLS DON’T HAVE FANGS By Molly Harper – Maybe it was the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge. When children's librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly boss and handed twenty-five dollars in potato skins instead of a severance check, she goes on a bender that's sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend A PALE VIEW OF HILLS By Kazuo Ishiguro – In this debut novel from acclaimed Booker Prize-winning Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go), post-war Japan serves as the haunting backdrop to a subtle story of memory, suicide, and psychological trauma. Etsuko lives alone in rural England, trying to come to terms with the recent suicide of her daughter, Keiko. WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING By Delia Owens – New York Times bestselling book Where The Crawdads Sing is about the rumors about the Marsh Girl that have haunted Barkley Cove for years. Where The Crawdads Sing is set in late 1969. Chase Andrews was found dead and locals suspected the Marsh Girl Kya Clark as the murderer. But the truth about Kya is far from what they think of her. She is smart and sensitive. AMERICAN DIRT By Jeanine Cummins – It starts with Lydia befriending her bookstore customer Javier, whom she found to have the same interests with books as her. However, her husband, Sebastián, found out that Javier is the leader of a dangerous cartel. When Sebastián revealed the expose, Javier got angry. Javier ordered to slaughter Sebastián and his family in a barbecue party. Only Lydia and her eight-year-old son survived. They tried to escape as undocumented immigrants to the United States. BORN A CRIME By Trevor Noah – The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime New York Times bestseller about one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed. HOMO DEUS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOMORROW By Yuval Noah Harari – From the author of the international bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind comes an extraordinary follow-up that explores the future of the human species. Now available as a trade paperback. THE GUARDIANS By John Grisham – In the small Florida town of Seabrook, a young lawyer named Keith Russo was shot dead at his desk as he worked late one night. The killer left no clues. There were no witnesses, no one with a motive. But the police soon came to suspect Quincy Miller, a young black man who was once a client of Russo’s. AMERICAN DIRT (OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB) By Jeanine Cummins – Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. THE THIRD WIFE By Lisa Jewell – At the center of this puzzle is Adrian Wolfe, a successful architect and grief-stricken widower, who, a year after his third wife’s death, begins to investigate the cause. As Adrian looks back on their brief but seemingly happy marriage, disturbing secrets begin to surface. The divorces from his two previous wives had been amicable, or so it seemed; his children, all five of them, were resilient as ever, or so he thought. But something, or someone, must have pushed Maya over the edge. THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS By Lisa Jewell – Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA By Arthur Golden – Let novelist Arthur Golden take you on a journey to a distant and fascinating world in Memoirs of a Geisha. Meet Sayuri, one of Japan's most respected geishas. From the tender age of nine, her parents sell her into the rigid world of becoming a geisha. She learns dance, how to be the perfect woman and how to deal with jealous rivals. This evocative first novel, an international best-seller, is riveting from start to finish. THE ALICE NETWORK By Kate Quinn – In this enthralling novel from New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption. THE HUNTRESS By Kate Quinn – Bold and fearless, Nina Markova always dreamed of flying. When the Nazis attack the Soviet Union, she risks everything to join the legendary Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on the invading Germans. When she is stranded behind enemy lines, Nina becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, and only Nina’s bravery and cunning will keep her alive. ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE By Anthony Doerr – Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY By Rachel Joyce – Recently retired, sweet, emotionally numb Harold Fry is jolted out of his passivity by a letter from Queenie Hennessy, an old friend, who he hasn't heard from in twenty years. She has written to say she is in hospice and wanted to say goodbye. A BETTER MAN By Louise Penny – It's Gamache's first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter. WASHINGTON BLACK By Esi Edugyan – When two English brothers arrive at a Barbados sugar plantation, they bring with them a darkness beyond what the slaves have already known. Washington Black – an eleven year-old field slave – is horrified to find himself chosen to live in the quarters of one of these men. EMBRACED BY THE LIGHT By Betty J. Eadie – On November 19, 1973, Betty J. Eadie died. Two decades later, writing in this national bestseller, she tells what happened next--describing miraculous visions and emotions that washed over her for four hours. This startling and uplifting story of one woman's mysterious odyssey is a hypnotic tale of a remarkable spiritual journey. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED By M. Scott Peck – Told in a voice that is timeless in its measure of understanding, The Road Less Traveled continues to enable us to explore the nature of loving relationships and leads us toward a new serenity and fullness of life. It help us determine how to distinguish dependency from love; how to become a more sensitive parent; and ultimately how to become one's own true self. A special shout out to all our board members, affiliate councils and our community on Facebook for helping us to compile the 2020 Laubach Literacy NB top 24 summer reading collection. From our family to yours, we hope you enjoy a fun-filled summer full of adventure and quality time with your loved ones. |