Pamela L. Laskin & Ellen Paige’s WHAT I FORGOT TO TELL YOU

Word Up welcomes Pamela L. Laskin and Ellen Paige to read and discuss their new middle-grade, neurodivergent love story, What I Forgot to Tell You. Rescheduled event.

“An insightful and beautifully rendered love-story about two rarely portrayed characters I hope we see more of.” —Blair Fell, author of novels The Sign For Home & upcoming Disco Witches of Fire Island

This event is a $5 suggested donation ticket with 30 max attendees. Please register in advance.

In compliance with Word Up Community Safety guidelines, all attendees for this event must wear a mask inside.

Word Up Community Bookshop is located at 2113 Amsterdam Ave. (& 165th St.) in Washington Heights, NYC. You can take the 1 train to 168th St and the A/C train to 163rd or 168th  St.

ABOUT THE BOOK

WHAT I FORGOT TO TELL YOU is an engrossing coming-of-age love story, sans any sugar-coating, about two neurodivergent young people dealing with the often unjust, ableist world and their right and ability to find love and joy. 

Insightful, touching, gut-wrenching, original and important. A book which gives voice to characters we rarely ever hear from in fiction. A story that is a resource to open our minds to other ways of experiencing the world and everyone’s right to experience love and commitment.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Pamela L. Laskin is a retired teacher of children’s writing and the former director of the Poetry Outreach Center. She is the author of five books of poetry, and three young adult novels. She is the winner of Leapfrog International fiction prize in 2018 for her novel Why No Goodbye.

Ellen Paige is a clinical social worker and adjunct professor in the psychology department in a local community college. She is a longtime member of the Board of Directors of FREE (Family Residences and Essential Enterprises). Her son Joe, who is 43 years old, lives in a FREE community group home with Gretchen, his wife. Her passion in life has been and remains advocacy for her son and daughter-in-law, as well as all others who are stigmatized and marginalized through no fault of their own.

Word Up Community Safety Guidelines

MASKING POLICY: All attendees ages 2 and older must wear a mask at all times when indoors at the store at Word Up and Recirculation.

CANCELLATION POLICY: Word Up Community Bookshop reserves the right to cancel events for any reason, including but not limited to safety concerns.

CODE OF CONDUCT: Please note Word Up has a zero tolerance policy for harassment or intimidation of any kind during any event, virtual or in-person. Please read our Safe Space Policy for more information. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from the event at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to events@wordupbooks.com immediately.

PHOTOS & RECORDING: Events may be recorded, and video and photos may be posted on our website, social media, and elsewhere. If you would prefer not to be visible, please let a Word Up team member know. 

PRIVACY: Registrants will be added to the Word Up mailing list. Your contact information will never be shared or sold. You may unsubscribe or update your subscription at any time.

PHYSICAL ACCESSIBILITY: Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria is a fully wheelchair-accessible space with one ADA-compliant ramp from the street level to the store. Some of our bookcases and tables are on wheels and can be moved to provide additional access. Our visitor bathroom is wheelchair accessible and gender neutral. Our events are mic’d for sound. Free ASL interpretation is available for most programs upon request; please email events@wordupbooks.com to request interpretation as early as possible. The space is not scent or chemical free but we do our best to minimize the use of chemicals and scents throughout the space and use nontoxic materials whenever possible. If you have specific questions about the space or how an event can be made more accessible to you, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@wordupbooks.com.