The Reading Across Continents project unites students from Washington, DC’s with their counterparts in Nigeria and Ghana through shared reading of the novels Copper Sun, Things Fall Apart and The Girl Who Can.

Yona Deshommes began her career as a publicity assistant at Warner Books. She went on to HarperCollins as an assistant publicist, where she worked with authors such as Christopher Kennedy Lawford, Lauren Bacall, and Karrine Steffans.

 In this inspirational memoir, Grey's Anatomy actor Isaiah Washington explains how filling in the gaps of his past led him to discover a new passion: helping those less fortunate. DNA testing revealed that Washington was descended from the Mende people, who today live in Sierra Leone. For many people, the story would end with the results of the search; for Isaiah, it had just begun. Discovering his roots has given him a new purpose, to lead an inspirational life defined by faith and charity.