Broadcasting every Friday at 12 noon from April 22nd

Want to know more about coming-of-age novels and films and how they continue to inspire and motivate us today? Join Berni Dwan, and her intergenerational guests, on a brand new eight-part series – Growing up Between the Dustjackets – to discover how these universally loved stories are relevant to people of all ages facing their own social challenges today. Learn about young people – in fiction, memoir, and real life – succeeding beyond all expectations despite being challenged by misogyny, racism, indoctrination, fundamentalism, homophobia, prejudice, war and poverty.

Series is produced and presented by Berni Dwan. Sound by Ed Grannell. Dramatic readings by Tara Power and Alan O’Brien. Music by Hannah Cogan

Episode content – 20 novels and thirty-five guests later…….

• Episode 1, April 22: Being Other – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Persepolis – two students from UCD Africa Society – Favour Ochonma and Oladipupo Adisa and ‘and one former DCU student via Zoom from Johannesburg who formerly lived in Ireland – Nonhlanhla Banda, and Mary Oyediran from Near FM
• Episode 2, April 29: Being Controlled: Country Girls, Land of Spices and Frost in May – two older participants who went to convent boarding schools – Carmel Gillen and Rita Larkin – two young current and former UCD students – Dearbhla Gibbs and Naomi Keating
• Episode 3, May 6: Being a Witness: I Was a Boy in Belsen, The Kite Runner and Empire of the Sun – Soldier Poet, Michael J Whelan and TCD English Lit students – Abby Connolly and Ceola Daly
• Episode 4, May 13: Being Impressionable: Northanger Abbey and Rebecca – Fairview Book Club members – Marian Gibbs, Susan Weir, Edel Connolly, Niamh O’Dowd
• Episode 5, May 20: Being Influenced: To Kill a Mockingbird and The Book Thief – TY students from Marino College – Allana O’Hanlon, Demi Duffy, Meda Covaci, Olivia Rodrigues, Aleksandr Klankert, Jose Sanchez, Alan Aboah, Rafael Giurgila
• Episode 6, May 27: Being Restricted: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and Go Tell It On the Mountain – Poets from LGBTQ+ community – Rob Buchanan and Fiadh Trevaskis Hoskin and Elaine King from Near FM
• Episode 7, June 3: Being a Premature Adult: Angela’s Ashes, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Ithaca – ‘Author, Alan McMonagle via Zoom from Galway, three former students from Dun Laoghaire Adult Learning Centre – Margaret Heyward, Maureen Coughlan and Louisa Askin, and Irish Independent book reviewer Estelle Birdy
• Episode 8, June 10: Being Safe in a Group: Animal Farm, The Outsiders and Lord of the Flies – TY students from St Kevin’s CBS, Finglas – Karl Mooney, Scott Curran and Paul Smith

Supported by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland Sound and Vision scheme through the Television Licence Fee.