North State Parent magazine

Heidi spearheaded a community writing project, Books That Cross Borders, now in it's seventh year. The program was inspired by a 93-year-old student of Heidi's who wanted to get her high school diploma. Part of the curriculum developed for the student was to create a memoir of her life to leave to her children. The student died shortly after completing the manuscript, and Heidi was not able to print and bind the copies her student had wanted to give her descendants. The project's completion was put on hold, but was not something Heidi could forget about.

Sometime later, Heidi learned of a company that offers kits for students to produce their own books and to have them professionally bound. It was a way to complete her student's memoir, and in doing so, Books That Cross Borders was born. The project is not just about writing and publishing - it's also about families and social networking. It started with about 20 books in the first year, primarily written by Gateway Home Study students, and has grown tremendously to become a community writing project. Participants have included faith-based communities, the after school program at the Martin Luther King Center, Grand Oaks Indian Education, several schools, and homeschooling families. Heidi says she is inspired every year by the variety and creativity of the completed books, which range from poetry collections and travel memoirs, to family histories and collaborative stories written with friends. Some young people have used the book project as a tool to deal with grief and loss.

While Heidi notes that while increasing numbers of participants and book manuscripts also increases the unexpected number of things that can go wrong, she adds positively, "Every year offers something beyond my imagination." Requiring about 15 to 20 hours of parental involvement, finishing a book kit promotes families working together. For Heidi, the goal of the project is about how people can cross borders and get to know someone else, or to know their own story better. In the coming years she would like to see more service learning opportunities incorporated, where older children mentor younger children. "I like to weave people together," Heidi says, adding that she also hopes more children will capture the stories of their elders, grandparents, cultures and even neighbors, and make them into a book.

For information about becoming a mentor in the Books That Cross Borders project, contact Heidi Hillesheim at (530) 275-7131 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Pamela Jorrick is the mother of two young writers who enjoy turning their stories into books.