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AIDS and why you should read And You Invited Me In

September 6, 2008

New cases of AIDS infections are growing 40% faster than the CDC thought with over 56,000 new cases each year. Those headlines hit home as I pondered Cheryl Moss Tyler's book And You Invited Me In. I don't consider myself conversative, but I certainly did grow up in an ultra-conservative household. Upon reading Cheryl's book, I could immediately identify dear friends and family who NEED to read this. Perhaps you need this, too. This is not a book simply for the GLBT community, but is especially appropriate for conservative Christians who put faith above compassion and grace.

Did you read the Newsweek cover story "Young, Gay, and Murdered" about 15 year old Larry King who was murdered in middle school by his classmate? When do we provide resources to others about acceptance, tolerance, and forgiveness? Will we continue to pander to the most vocal critics and pre-censor our selections to avoid conflict? Or will we provide moving, thoughtful literature to explore grace? We should be providing titles like this in our secondary schools to help teens and families.

And You Invited Me In is a modern-day parable written to help explore unconditional love in troubled times. For conservatives who have gay and lesbian friends, this book will help explore the conflicts. For the GLBT community, this will help heal. Jeremy Reynalds wrote a review of this for ASSIST News Service.

Check out Cheryl's book trailor on YouTube

Cheryl has also created a book trailor that introduces the characters of And You Invited Me In. I appreciated this approach as an excellent example of a way to booktalk using powerpoint and character expression.
Visit Chery Moss Tyler's web page: www.AndYouInvitedMeIn.com, her blog: andyouinvitedmein.wordpress.com, or email her at cherylmosstyler@aol.com My question to Chery is "What happened to Scott, to Jett, and to Annie?" These characters are so realistic that I want to know more about the next step.

Cheryl was my guidance counselor for two years and understands how to work with youth. We have both moved on to other middle schools, but stay in touch. Feel free to email Chery with your comments and questions.

Posted by Diane Chen on September 6, 2008 | Comments (1)