Oceanside CA– The Oceanside Public Library received a prestigious California Reads grant, War Comes Home, from Cal Humanities. California Reads provides a springboard to think about and discuss ideas using thought-provoking books about issues that are of importance to our state.
Throughout October and November 2014, the Library will offer programs focusing on the veteran experience, aiming to engage the community in reading “war stories,” to spark a city-wide conversation and promote greater understanding of what it is like to go to war and the issues of reintegration for returning soldiers.
Please join us for the Military Authors Panel Discussion on Saturday, October 18, at 11:00 a.m. at the Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, City Hall North, 300 N. Coast Highway in Oceanside. The Panel will be moderated by Mike Grice, retired U. S. Marine artillery officer who has been an active essayist since the late 1990s. In addition to writing Orders to Nowhere and On Gunnery, he has been published over 40 times in a half dozen periodicals and professional military journals. Mr. Grice is the recipient of the Roy S. Geiger, Harold W. Chase, and Robert E. Hogaboom writing awards, as well as numerous other writing awards.
Panelists include bestselling military authors William LaBarge, Paula J. Caplan, Scott McEwen, Gail Chatfield and Michael Hopf. Books will be available for purchase and autograph by the authors at the event. The program is free and for all ages.

‘Is Anybody Listening?’ Film Screening

Continuing the California Reads: War Comes Home project, the Oceanside Public Library invites you for a free screening of the documentary ‘Is Anybody Listening?’ on Saturday, October 18 at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, City Hall North, 300 N. Coast Hwy, Oceanside.
Paula J. Caplan, the film’s producer, is a clinical and research psychologist, and author of eleven nonfiction books and numerous award winning plays, an actor, director, and producer. Her book When Johnny and Jane Come Marching Home: How All of Us Can Help Veterans won three national awards for nonfiction, and her plays about veterans have won awards and been produced across the United States and in Canada.
When the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, she foresaw that veterans would be diagnosed as mentally ill rather than as experiencing the deeply human consequences of war. This can lead to alarming rates of suicide, homelessness, substance abuse and family breakdown.
Caplan has acted to try to stop this harmful process and advocate for humane, often community-based ways of offering help. She began listening to whatever any veterans wanted to tell her.
That gave rise to The Welcome Johnny and Jane Home Project and this film. Using her interviews with veterans as well as archival footage and photos, Paula’s film takes us with her on her journey to understand veterans and bridge the divides between them and others in the communities where they live. The Program is free and for all ages. For more information, please call 760-435-5600