After two semesters of intensive planning, reading and discussing, the All Bonaventure Reads (ABR) Selection Committee chose next semester’s ABR book: Dan Barry’s The Boys in the Bunkhouse.
The Boys in the Bunkhouse follows the stories of 32 men with intellectual disabilities, all from Texas. Shipped to an Atalissa, Iowa, processing plant, each morning the men were paid a measly $65 a month, after the over-deduction of housing fees, and put through traumatizing physical and emotional abuse.
Jean Ehman, the committee’s chair, said The Boys in the Bunkhouse is a unique selection, focusing on a topic never before discussed by an ABR book. She added the diverse, potential applications of the topic allow for virtually endless programming opportunities, including classroom discussions and on-campus events.
“Mental health is something that impacts so many of us: students, adults [and] children,” she said. “And, so, that is going to be one of the hooks for us, to be able to explore these men that are featured in the book, [who] all had intellectual disabilities.”
Another new aspect of this ABR selection: The Boys in the Bunkhouse isn’t set for release until May 17. According to Ehman, the piece was brought to the committee’s attention after Ehman contacted Barry, received the publisher’s contact information and was granted pre-publication, editor copies of the book for review.
Chris Brown, the director of First-Year Experience, said that while many books were weighed and the decision wasn’t an easy one, he’s confident in the committee’s choice.
According to Brown, there is a litany of specific criteria to be considered when choosing the annual ABR book.
“When we’re reading books, one of the basic things I’m looking for is, ‘Is it a book that is engaging, something a student would want to read and does it cover a topic that is both relevant and important?’” he said.
Brown added a book’s engagement can come from a variety of factors.
“Sometimes it could be the writing style that’s engaging,” he said. “And sometimes it’s just an interesting topic.”
For Brown, his personal attraction to the book was rooted in the way Barry, a class of ‘80 alum, approached the hard-hitting topic.
“Mr. Barry is a very vivid writer,” he said. “When I’m reading the book it’s very easy to see what’s going on. He really taps into your senses to help explain what’s happening. That’s where, for me, the book was kind of a page-turner, because I really got immersed in the story…He wasn’t just telling me, ‘These men are working at this plant.’ I saw what they were doing; I could see what they were experiencing. It kind of drew me in just in his writing style.”
Ehman agreed and said Barry “paints with his words.”
Programming opportunities for the book, Brown said, played a major role in the group’s decision, too.
“When we look at the book, we have to look at it in a lot of different scenarios,” he said. “I’m looking at, ‘Can it be used in a University 101 classroom?’ I’m also looking at, ‘Are there other areas that could adopt the book?’ [and] ‘What events and activities can we do to explore the themes outside of the classroom?”
According to Brown and Ehman, programming discussion begins in May, after the committee secures the author’s visit to campus. Both committee members said securing Barry as a guest speaker next fall is under way. Barry has also been confirmed as this year’s graduation commencement speaker.
The next step, the two said, is to order around 700 to 750 copies of the piece and distribute them to freshmen during orientation, as well as to faculty members and campus leaders.
After distribution, the committee focuses on integrating the book’s themes into both the academic and social scene on campus, planning classroom content for University 101 sections and potential on and off-campus programming events.
Ehman said while the group has a great deal of work ahead, she’s thankful that Barry’s alum status will allow for heightened student connections.
“I think that he can relate to the age group [as his daughter is a freshman in college], she said. “He can relate about Bonaventure and the impact Franciscanism has had on him and his wife.”
