The 2025 - 2026 One Book is
The Essay by Robert Yocum
Set in 1970s Appalachian Ohio, Robin Yocum’s novel, The Essay, tells the story of a teenager born into poverty and hopelessness, seemingly destined to repeat the failures of generations of men in his family. At its heart is a reaffirmation of how, often, it’s the silenced voice that is the most powerful, and, as its title suggests, it is today’s much-beleaguered essay that is this story’s second unlikely hero.
Robin Yocum is the Edgar-nominated author known for his fiction set in the Ohio River Valley. His latest novel, The Last Hitman, is set to be released in December 2025 by Crooked Lane Books.
Meet the Author!
An Evening with Robin Yocum is sponsored by RCSJ, One Book, One College and the
Cumberland Campus Educational Foundation
A book signing will follow. The event is free and open to RCSJ faculty, students, staff, and the community at large.
This hard-hitting yet hopeful underdog tale is a popular book club pick that grips readers with its first sentence and refuses to let go even well after its last word is read.
The Essay is available at RCSJ Barnes & Noble Bookstores and major booksellers and is sure to elicit important conversations on prejudice, friendship, integrity, family, education, and remaining true to oneself even in the most dire circumstances.
For RCSJ Instructors:
Instructors who plan to incorporate the book into their classrooms may request an instructor copy and a discussion guide/resource packet by emailing Judy at
[email protected]. Instructor copies are limited and will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
What is One Book, One College?
Initiated in the 2004-2005 academic year, OBOC is a college- and community-wide reading program with the goal of fostering a reading community that encourages reading for pleasure, critical thinking, global awareness, and multicultural understanding.
Each year the OBOC committee chooses one special book to be read by students, faculty, staff, and the community at large. Workshops, discussions, lectures, and/or other related activities are organized around the selected book during the Fall and Spring Semesters of that year. Faculty are encouraged to incorporate the "One Book" into their classes across the curriculum.
The program's highlight is the much-anticipated annual author visit to campus. Participation in OBOC is not limited to Cumberland's campus, however. OBOC invites community members to read its selection and welcomes them to attend the annual author visit and book signing on a first-come, first-served basis.
To nominate a work of fiction or a memoir for the committee's consideration, please email Judy,
[email protected].
Committee Members
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Josh Austin, Assistant Professor of English - Cumberland
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Erin Brabazon, Professor of English - Gloucester
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Danielle Carroll, community representative
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Judy Cirucci, Chair, Sr. Instructional Designer - Cumberland
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Anya Cronin, Professor of English - Gloucester
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Toni DiTomo, Professor/Coordinator Developmental English - Cumberland
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Yolanda Garcia Balicki, Esq., RCSJ Board of Trustees Member
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Kelly Hayden, Librarian - Cumberland
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Sharon Kewish, Past Chair, Professor Emeritus - English
- Maria LeBlanc, Executive Director, Cumberland Campus Educational Foundation
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Susan Nardelli, Special Assistant to the President-Institutional Advancement
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Sandra Reid, Professor of Nursing - Cumberland
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Meredith Vicente, Director of Special Services - Cumberland
Previous Selections
- 2024-2025 The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton
- 2023-2024 Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
- 2022-2023 The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin
- 2021-2022
The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate
- 2020-2021
Maid by Stephanie Land
- 2019-2020
Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig
- 2018-2019
The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff
- 2017-2018
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
- 2016-2017
Remember Me Like This by Bret Anthony Johnston
- 2015-2016
The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
- 2014-2015
Until Tuesday by Luis Carlos Montalvan
- 2013-2014
A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls Lanier
- 2012-2013
Faithless by Joyce Carol Oates
- 2011-2012
Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario
- 2010-2011
The Soloist by Steve Lopez
- 2009-2010
Strong Medicine Speaks by Amy Hill Hearth
- 2008-2009
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
- 2007-2008
Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell
- 2006-2007
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
- 2005-2006
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
- 2004-2005
The Color of Water by James McBride