"America's Changing Families" will be the topic of a public presentation by Stephanie Coontz, bestselling author and renowned expert on the family. Coontz will discuss family dynamics as characterized in Sue Monk Kidd’s novel "The Secret Life of Bees" on Monday, October 3 at 7 p.m. at the Washington Center for Performing Arts, 512 Washington Street SE, in The Black Box.

The event is free of charge, part of Timberland Regional Library’s (TRL) Timberland Reads Together: "The Secret Life of Bees," a program series designed to promote reading and build community by exploring a book beyond its literary aspects and talking about its connections to real life. Other programs in the series continue throughout October.

Coontz teaches history and family studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She is also the Director of Research and Public Education for the Council on Contemporary Families. Her books include "The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap" and "The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America's Changing Families". Her newest book, "Marriage, A History: From Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Marriage" was published this May.

As a recognized expert, Ms Coontz has testified about her research before the U.S. House Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families in Washington, D.C. She has appeared on Oprah Winfrey, Crossfire, NPR, CNN's Talk Back Live, and several prime-time television documentaries.

For information about participating in other Timberland Reads Together presentations relating to "The Secret Life of Bees," people can stop by any Timberland library to pick up a copy of the Readers’ Guide, call (360) 704-4636, or visit www.trlib.org the TRL Web site.

Timberland Regional Library serves the information, reading and lifelong learning needs of the Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston County public at 27 community libraries and 5 cooperative library centers at schools and a tribal center. The library system is funded by local property taxes. Anyone needing special accommodations to participate in a library’s program may contact the library a week in advance.