A writer whose unflinching examinations of growing up poor and abused have earned praise from a diverse audience will be the next speaker in the College’s Sophie Kerr Lecture Series. Laurie Cannady will discuss her memoir Crave: Sojourn of a Hungry Soul (Etruscan Press, 2015), and her writing on topics such as poverty, domestic violence, and women’s issues.

The free, public event is March 24 at the Rose O’Neill Literary House at 4:30 p.m.

“Before I spent a moment in this world, I was hungry. Momma told stories of my body tightening inside her body even though she was just four months pregnant with me. Food was a scarcity in momma’s womb, my first home, and with most meals consisting of unsweetened tea and butterless biscuits, there was never enough to soothe her rumbling belly, my nursing brother, and me inside.”

So begins Crave: Sojourn of a Hungry Soul, a coming-of-age memoir chronicling a young girl’s journey through abuse and impoverishment. “Brave, honest, and beautiful, this is a story about facing the truth and daring to love your way through to the other side,” says author Tayari Jones. The memoir unashamedly explores Cannday’s past, discovering the often difficult lesson that “the most slender threads bind the strongest.”

Cannady, who teaches at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, received her MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and her PhD in literature and criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has published articles and essays about her experiences, as well as poverty, abuse, and women’s issues. She has spoken at West Point to raise awareness about sexual assault in the military, and is the author of the blog “Pedaling to Peace and Prosperity,” which can be viewed at http://ow.ly/Y0uDS.

For more information about this and other spring lectures in the Sophie Kerr series, visit the event page at http://ow.ly/Y0t3V.