(Chelsea Update would like to thank Anna Cangialosi for the information in this story.)
This year’s community read is “A Walk in the Woods,” by Bill Bryson.
Residents of the 5 Healthy Towns of Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester, and Stockbridge are encouraged to pick up a copy and support the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation’s (CWF) Move More initiative.
More than 1,500 copies of “A Walk in the Woods” have been distributed throughout the five communities. They have been placed at doctor’s offices, salons, wellness centers, coffee shops, and churches. If you find a copy in your community, we encourage you to share the book after you’ve read it.
Here are some of the spots to check in Chelsea: Chelsea Wellness Center, Chelsea Community Hospital, Chelsea State Bank, Zou Zou’s, Biggby, Bearclaw, Back to the Roots, Chelsea Senior Center, Chelsea Retirement Community, Silver Maples and the Chamber of Commerce to name just a few.
If you can’t find a copy around town, visit your library in any of the five participating communities to check out a copy.
So, here’s a synopsis: Following his return to America after 20 years in Britain, Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100 mile Appalachian Trail. The “AT”, as it’s affectionately known to thousands of hikers, offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakes–and to a writer with the comic genius of Bryson–it also provides endless opportunities to test his own powers of ineptitude, and to witness the majestic silliness of his fellow human beings.
A Walk in the Woods” is more than just a laugh-out-loud hike. Bryson’s acute eye is a wise witness to this fragile and beautiful trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America’s last great wilderness.
An adventure, a comedy, a lament, and a celebration, “A Walk in the Woods” is a modern classic of travel literature.
Free events supporting the CWF’s Move More initiative will be offered in all five communities during September, October and November to encourage people to get more physically active, starting with a kick off event at the Grass Lake Heritage Day Festival on Saturday, Sept. 7 from noon–2 p.m.
Stop by the 5H Community Read table at the festival to pick up a free copy of the book, and get a free pedometer to track your steps to a healthier life.
To explain, the 5H Community Read is a district-wide initiative to promote a more active, and better-connected community, while encouraging a love of reading. This community read hopes to engage more than 10,000 people by putting a book in their hands, and its goal is to bring all five communities together in dialogue on the topic of wellness, while focusing on the importance of getting people together and staying active.
For more information and a listing of events in all five communities, click here.
The 5H Community Read is a partnership between the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation, the Chelsea District Library, the Dexter District Library, the Jackson District Library in Grass Lake, the Manchester District Library, and the Capital Area District Libraries in Stockbridge. It is supported by a generous grant from our community partner, the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation.
(Publisher’s note: Grab a copy of this book – it is a terrific read. I loved it. Find one, read it, pass it along and borrow or buy his other books. They are terrifically written and tell wonderful stories.)
