Submitted by the San Juan Island Library

Join the Library on Tuesday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. as we come together with local author Emily Geyman, formerly Emily Reed, to hear about her book Voices of Two Americans.

Author Emily Geyman has lived on San Juan since 1972 and is well-connected in the community. Now she joins us to tell the story of her parents and their part in history. Herein are the voices of two Americans who traveled abroad in the 1920s to help make the world a better place and have adventures. Harvey, in his 30s during revolutionary times in Russia, initiated a YMCA program for youth to create vegetable gardens for food for their families. Later he directed a YMCA vocational school for Russian refugees in Bulgaria. Roberta, in her 20s, led diverse YWCA activities for Japanese women working in businesses and factories and taught English to women and children.

Come along with Harvey and ride from Irkutsk to Vladivostok on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Climb Mt. Fuji with Roberta and stay overnight on the summit. Share their lives as they learned from and gave to others in different cultures. Later they married, became parents of the author, and their unique experiences are now pieces of history.