"I Survived" author Lauren Tarshis visits West Nyack Elementary

The author of the best-selling “I Survived” series spoke with West Nyack Elementary School students about how she researches the historical events behind her books and where she finds inspiration for each new story. She also gave the third through fifth graders a special preview by reading the first chapter of her latest work, before she signed books (and even a cast!).

But perhaps her most powerful message was about her own journey as a reader and writer. Tarshis shared that she struggled with reading as a child and did not read a book until she was 14. “I was the last kid that anyone thought would grow up to be an author,” she told students. “My advice is do not look at writing as something you have to be talented at or gifted in. It’s something you learn to do.”