Sister Helen Sheehan Library

Trinity Reads 2026: Reyna Grande’s The Distance Between Us

Trinity Reads has selected Reyna Grande’s The Distance Between Us, a memoir in which the author recounts her experience crossing the border from Mexico to the U.S. at age nine, only to discover that the American dream comes with hard truths. Facing her father’s struggles and a turbulent home, Reyna turns to books and writing for hope. Her journey, from an undocumented child to an acclaimed author and the first in her family to graduate from college, makes The Distance Between Us a powerful and timely story that challenges and inspires. (https://reynagrande.com/books/distance/)

Additionally, Trinity Library is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Humanities for Justice to create the Trinity Reads Fellowship, a summer program that includes a fall capstone project. Fellows are students selected to help support Trinity Reads mission as a public educational program at Trinity Washington University.

Fellows should expect to spend about forty hours over the summer reading and engaging with the Trinity Reads text selected for the upcoming academic year. After the summer of study exploring the themes and topics in the text, Trinity Reads Fellows deliver a capstone project in the Fall semester that engages the entire University community. Through this program, Trinity Reads Fellows serve as leaders and catalysts for intellectual engagement, strengthening the culture of reading, reflection, and community at Trinity Washington University. Trinity Reads Fellows receive a stipend for their participation in the program.

Please apply to the Trinity Reads Fellowship here.

Trinity Reads, the annual common read at Trinity Washington University, is intended to build intellectual and social rapport among students, staff, faculty, and community members by providing a collective experience of reading, reflecting on, and discussing ideas and themes that raise important issues. A common book is chosen to enrich perspectives and to invite conversations across disciplinary fields of interest. We urge students to read the book, and we encourage faculty members to include it in their courses. A series of cultural and academic activities—film screenings, debates, panel discussions, book discussions, and lectures—is organized to support the project.

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