Tom Seeman at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store welcomes TOM SEEMAN—businessperson who serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston and on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston—for a discussion of his new memoir Animals I Want To See: A Memoir of Growing Up in the Projects and Defying the Odds. He will be joined in conversation by MIRA BARTÓK—New York Times bestselling author of The Memory Palace and The Wonderling series.

About Animals I Want to See

On Bronson Street, in the projects of Toledo, Ohio, in a crowded house occupied by a family of fourteen, Tom Seeman starts a very important list. Just as the trash-strewn field in his backyard is home to a treasure-trove of wild animals, Tom’s list, “Animals I Want To See One Day,” is home to dreams of adventure in places far away from the downtrodden neighborhood where he lives. But for all its hardship and crime, Bronson Street is also something of a mythical street, populated by unforgettable people who share food, protect each other, and give surprising gifts of beauty and merriment, proving that the bonds of community and friendship (often across racial and social lines) can bridge any divide and transcend what many of us are taught to believe about each other.

A luminous coming-of-age memoir that shimmers with countless marvels, Animals I Want To See tracks Tom Seeman’s journey from a child janitor with big ambitions to a teenage petty criminal to a student at Yale and Harvard. At once a meditation on finding wonder in unlikely places, an ode to a heroic mother who makes the seemingly impossible possible, and an exploration of what it means to create our own identities, this is a heartwarming, thought-provoking, ultimately uplifting book for all readers.

Praise for Animals I Want to See

“When Tom Seeman told me the story of his childhood, I immediately said that he should write it all down and share it with the world. I am so glad he did. Animals I Want to See is a terrific and moving memoir about dreaming big and making great things happen.” —President Bill Clinton

“Tom Seeman has penned an extraordinarily engaging book about his struggles as a youngster, the many folks who ‘packed his parachute,’ his spiritual journey culminating in finding deep meaning, and the joy he feels in helping others. Read it and be inspired.” —Deepak Chopra, New York Times bestselling author

“Tom Seeman’s Animals I Want To See is the book we need now. Tender, wise, gracefully written, this memoir tells one boy’s life, but it does so much more: it revitalizes a sense of American optimism.… I couldn’t put it down.” —Thomas Christopher Greene, bestselling author of The Headmaster’s Wife

Masking Policy

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.