ABA to host first 'Write and Tell Live' book conversation event March 20

The American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence will host its first “Write and Tell Live,” a livestream conversation with authors. Sara Block, the author of “Together Unbroken: Stories, Law, Practice, and Healing at the Intersection of Domestic Violence and Child Welfare,” will be the first guest in conversation with Maricarmen Garza, chair of the commission.

“Write and Tell Live with Sara Block” will be livestreamed Monday, March 20 at 1 p.m. on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

“This is the first event in a new initiative by the commission to bring storytelling to the forefront of gender-based violence work,” said Garza. “Through this new author series, we hope to highlight the importance of storytelling for survivors and their attorneys, to learn more about the diverse experiences of survivors of GBV. And to highlight ways in which legal systems actors can better respond to survivors of GBV."

Garza and Block will discuss the issues in the book and the process for storytelling. They will also talk about how to tell other people’s stories as well as the importance of storytelling for lawyers and legal advocates.

“Together Unbroken,” published by ABA Publishing, delves into the response of the child welfare system to families experiencing domestic violence. It offers substantive analysis along with stories from the lives of people impacted by the intersection of domestic violence and child welfare.

Block is the managing director of Advocacy and Partnerships at Ascend Justice, where she focuses on policy and systemic reform that impact families experiencing domestic violence. She is also the academic director for child and family law programs at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. In the master of jurisprudence in child law program at Loyola, Block teaches child welfare law and policy, and juvenile justice law policy.

The public can register on the commission’s Facebook or LinkedIn sites, or receive a reminder about the program on YouTube.

Co-sponsors for the event are the ABA Center on Children and the Law and ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty.