The Power of Story: Using Personal Anecdotes to Counter Challenges

Abstract

At my high school library, I have a student who became an avid reader after I recommended Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Saenz to him. He returned soon after checking it out to tell me that this was the first time ever that he completely related to a character as a gay Hispanic teenager. This book ignited his passion for reading, and he devoured my recommendations from then on. He couldn’t wait to tell me the day he found out there was going to be a sequel. He reminded me once a week to make sure I ordered it for the library.