Information for Adult Learners

Conversation Circle Summary

 

The women in the conversation circles also liked real life stories. These real life stories could be in the form of memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, or women simply talking about their lives. Some women also seemed to like history as well. In the discussions, women talked about liking real life stories with the same frequency as fiction stories. They liked them equally well.

Probably for me it's in the conversations I've had, getting the real life side of it, getting the feedback so that's it's not just me but everyone else kind of thing. And that's what I like and that's what I've gotten out of it from the groups I've been in. It's that real life side of it even with the real stories that people have written down about their experiences. I really like that, it brings it home.

 

WHY women liked real life stories

Question: Is it important to have reading materials about women's lives and concerns? Why? Answers • I like to read about women's lives because it makes me feel like I'm not alone. Other women feel the way I do. And sometimes life doesn't seem so bad. • Women like to know that they're not the only ones that are going through whatever it is they're going through. • It helps us to work out our problems.

Women were interested in writings mostly connected to information and people's daily lives. They liked learning from other people's problems. They wanted to read for information that women can use in their daily life. In some cases, women just wanted practical information or advice. In general, true stories were more interesting because they were about daily lives and things that happen every day.

 

One woman talked about why she likes to read true crime books. She has been the victim of many violent crimes. She found it important and fascinating for her to understand the criminal mind. It has helped her to understand her own feelings and given her some perspective on why people do what they do. As a child, she thought everyone thought the way she did especially when she was thinking about revenge. Reading true crime has been a kind of therapy for her. She realized why she felt the way she did and that she had reasons outside of herself for those feelings. Something was causing her to feel destructive. Connected to this, though, she also learned how to protect herself and her daughter. Reading memoirs by violent criminals (like Jeffrey Dahlmer or John Gacey) gave her specific information about how to survive.

… these people, you know, they tell you in their memoirs why they chose this victim over that one. [You learn] how not to be a victim because this person had been doing this or had been doing that. I've learned practical stuff like traveling in groups, avoiding certain areas, and not looking vulnerable.

Women also talked about personal experiences or problems. They hoped reading about other women's experiences like theirs would help. They would not feel so lonely. They would learn some new ways of coping. For specific examples of these topics, please visit the section called OUR CONCERNS.

 

WHAT kinds of real life stories women liked

Some women liked to read diaries. Others like to read the gossip stuff in magazines. One woman wanted stories by adults who were remembering what they did as children, especially as teenagers.

I want real stories about someone's life as a regular person.

 

One woman talked about a series of books called "The Letter" series. She thought the books were called Letters from Vietnam and Letters from Prison. They were letters written by real people about their experiences. Many women gave examples of memoirs or life stories they had read. They included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Maya Angelou, and Iyanla Vanzant.

But we like stories that talk about our culture. It is easier to learn to read English when we like the story. Stories about women like us will help.

Women wanted true stories by women so they could understand different cultures better. Sometimes women wanted to understand their own culture better. An African American woman wanted to understand more about being black in America. Sometimes learning about their own culture made it easier to learn reading.

 

Also, immigrant women wanted to better understand women's lives in the United States. In addition, women born in the United States wanted to learn about the many different immigrant women coming to the U.S. Along with this, some women asked for stories about women living in other countries. They were interested in understanding what life is like for women around the world.

We read some memoirs written by women from Somalia. They were interesting and enjoyable. We did not know about traditions in Somalia. Now we understand them better.

 

Biographies and History

In addition to contemporary women's lives, some women in the conversations wanted to know about famous women. They wanted to know about women like Rosa Parks and women from the past who helped the world.

Uhuh, no. If I'm in school I'll read it. But if I'm at home and I got nothing to do and I wanna read a book, it ain't gonna be no history. Uh unh. No, no, no, not me. I just can't chill with that. It's too boring. I already know about it so I don't need to read it.

There was some disagreement about history, though. Several women thought that reading history was boring.

 

However, a few women said they DO like to read history books. Some women only like to read certain kinds of history books, like history about African Americans. A couple of immigrant women talked about learning the history of the U.S. One woman, however, talked about wanting to learn ancient history. She wanted ancient stories from around the world. A group of women from Latin America talked about historical literature. They wanted to know about difficulties (such as Hitler). History would help them to understand political tension and revolution.

Women

READING

SCHOOL

FICTION

AUTHORS

CONCERNS

FORMATS

ADVICE