Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)
A memoir of the life-changing friendship between an idealistic young teacher and her gifted student, jailed for murder in the Mississippi Delta
FINALIST FOR THE DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE
Recently graduated from Harvard University, Michelle Kuo arrived in the rural town of Helena, Arkansas, as a Teach for America volunteer, bursting with optimism and drive. But she soon encountered the jarring realities of life in one of the poorest counties in America, still disabled by the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. In this stirring memoir, Kuo, the child of Taiwanese immigrants, shares the story of her complicated but rewarding mentorship of one student, Patrick Browning, and his remarkable literary and personal awakening.
Convinced she can make a difference in the lives of her teenaged students, Michelle Kuo puts her heart into her work, using quiet reading time and guided writing to foster a sense of self in students left behind by a broken school system. Though Michelle loses some students to truancy and even gun violence, she is inspired by some such as Patrick. Fifteen and in the eighth grade, Patrick begins to thrive under Michelle’s exacting attention. However, after two years of teaching, Michelle feels pressure from her parents and the draw of opportunities outside the Delta and leaves Arkansas to attend law school.
Then, on the eve of her law-school graduation, Michelle learns that Patrick has been jailed for murder. Feeling that she left the Delta prematurely and determined to fix her mistake, Michelle returns to Helena and resumes Patrick’s education—even as he sits in a jail cell awaiting trial. Every day for the next seven months they pore over classic novels, poems, and works of history. Little by little, Patrick grows into a confident, expressive writer and a dedicated reader galvanized by the works of Frederick Douglass, James Baldwin, Walt Whitman, W. S. Merwin, and others. In her time reading with Patrick, Michelle is herself transformed, contending with the legacy of racism and the questions of what constitutes a “good” life and what the privileged owe to those with bleaker prospects.
“A powerful meditation on how one person can affect the life of another . . . One of the great strengths of Reading with Patrick is its portrayal of the risk inherent to teaching.”—The Seattle Times
“[A] tender memoir.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
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Michelle Kuo. (2017). Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship. Random House Publishing Group.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Michelle Kuo. 2017. Reading With Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship. Random House Publishing Group.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Michelle Kuo, Reading With Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship. Random House Publishing Group, 2017.
MLA Citation (style guide)Michelle Kuo. Reading With Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship. Random House Publishing Group, 2017.
| Library | Owned | Available |
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- bioText: Michelle Kuo taught English at an alternative school in the Arkansas Delta for two years. After teaching, she attended Harvard Law School as a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow, and worked legal aid at a nonprofit for Spanish-speaking immigrants in the Fruitvale district of Oakland, California, on a Skadden Fellowship, with a focus on tenants’ and workers’ rights. She has volunteered as a teacher at the Prison University Project and clerked for a federal appeals court judge in the Ninth Circuit. Currently she teaches courses on race, law, and society at the American University in Paris.
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- “In all of the literature addressing education, race, poverty, and criminal justice, there has been nothing quite like Reading with Patrick.”—The Atlantic
A memoir of the life-changing friendship between an idealistic young teacher and her gifted student, jailed for murder in the Mississippi Delta
FINALIST FOR THE DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE
Recently graduated from Harvard University, Michelle Kuo arrived in the rural town of Helena, Arkansas, as a Teach for America volunteer, bursting with optimism and drive. But she soon encountered the jarring realities of life in one of the poorest counties in America, still disabled by the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. In this stirring memoir, Kuo, the child of Taiwanese immigrants, shares the story of her complicated but rewarding mentorship of one student, Patrick Browning, and his remarkable literary and personal awakening.
Convinced she can make a difference in the lives of her teenaged students, Michelle Kuo puts her heart into her work, using quiet reading time and guided writing to foster a sense of self in students left behind by a broken school system. Though Michelle loses some students to truancy and even gun violence, she is inspired by some such as Patrick. Fifteen and in the eighth grade, Patrick begins to thrive under Michelle’s exacting attention. However, after two years of teaching, Michelle feels pressure from her parents and the draw of opportunities outside the Delta and leaves Arkansas to attend law school.
Then, on the eve of her law-school graduation, Michelle learns that Patrick has been jailed for murder. Feeling that she left the Delta prematurely and determined to fix her mistake, Michelle returns to Helena and resumes Patrick’s education—even as he sits in a jail cell awaiting trial. Every day for the next seven months they pore over classic novels, poems, and works of history. Little by little, Patrick grows into a confident, expressive writer and a dedicated reader galvanized by the works of Frederick Douglass, James Baldwin, Walt Whitman, W. S. Merwin, and others. In her time reading with Patrick, Michelle is herself transformed, contending with the legacy of racism and the questions of what constitutes a “good” life and what the privileged owe to those with bleaker prospects.
“A powerful meditation on how one person can affect the life of another . . . One of the great strengths of Reading with Patrick is its portrayal of the risk inherent to teaching.”—The Seattle Times
“[A] tender memoir.”—O: The Oprah Magazine - gradeLevels
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June 1, 2017
The story of a mutually transformative friendship between the author and a black student she met as a Teach for America volunteer in Arkansas.Kuo (Race, Law, and Society/American Univ. of Paris) knew that her post-college plan to teach underprivileged students "American history through black literature" in the tiny Mississippi Delta town of Helena went against what her ambitious Taiwanese parents wanted for her. Yet the need to obey the dictates of a strong social conscience was stronger than the desire for material gain and success. Once in Arkansas, Kuo quickly discovered that her assignment at an underfunded alternative middle school was far more difficult than she had imagined. Most of her students had never encountered an Asian person before, and in her more disillusioned moments, the author found herself thinking that she was just a "cliche [of the] middle class outsider." Her friendship with 15-year-old Patrick Browning, a quiet young black man in her eighth-grade class, became her saving grace. Patrick thrived under Kuo's tutelage, revealing a profound sensitivity and intelligence that moved the young teacher. Acceptance to law school took Kuo to Harvard, where, during the course of her studies, she learned that Patrick was in jail, charged with murder. Desperate to find a way to help her former student, she put off building the legal career she now realized inspired no passion to return to Arkansas. As the author helped Patrick's lawyer find justice for her client, she visited Patrick--who committed the crime in order to protect a family member--in jail every day. The two read classics by such writers as Frederick Douglass, Derek Walcott, Rita Dove, and Walt Whitman while confronting painful questions about race and belonging. In the process, Kuo helped Patrick come to terms with his troubled past and learn to look toward the future with greater hope. Honest, thoughtful, and humane, Kuo's book is not only a testament to a remarkable friendship, but a must-read for anyone interested in social justice and race in America. Thoughtfully provocative reading.COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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May 1, 2017
After graduating from college, Kuo moved to Helena, AR, as a Teach for America volunteer. There, she encouraged students to find their voice by assigning readings from black authors and having students write self-reflective pieces. One of the students, Patrick Browning, transformed from a withdrawn pupil into a thoughtful young writer. When her contract ended, Kuo went on to Harvard Law School. Two years later, she learned that Patrick was in jail for murder. Kuo returned to Helena and tutored Patrick as he lingered in jail, awaiting a trial that may never happen. This account is her memoir of this time, but it is also a meditation on race in America. The author weaves her personal story with that of Patrick and the other students who crossed her life in Helena. She witnesses how many Americans are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and comes to several of the same insights as J.D. Vance in Hillbilly Elegy. What differentiates Kuo's work is that throughout her experience, she discovers the healing power of literature. VERDICT This memoir of teaching literature in one of the poorest counties in America is a reminder of how literacy changes lives. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 2/6/17.]--John Rodzvilla, Emerson Coll., Boston
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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March 1, 2017
In 2004, while teaching English in the Arkansas Delta under the auspices of Teach for America, Kuo bonded with a bright and eager student named Patrick Browning. Three years later, as she completed law school, she learned that Patrick was in jail for murder and returned to continue reading and discussing literature with him.
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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A memoir of the life-changing friendship between an idealistic young teacher and her gifted student, jailed for murder in the Mississippi Delta
FINALIST FOR THE DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE
Recently graduated from Harvard University, Michelle Kuo arrived in the rural town of Helena, Arkansas, as a Teach for America volunteer, bursting with optimism and drive. But she soon encountered the jarring realities of life in one of the poorest counties in America, still disabled by the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. In this stirring memoir, Kuo, the child of Taiwanese immigrants, shares the story of her complicated but rewarding mentorship of one student, Patrick Browning, and his remarkable literary and personal awakening.
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