“BOOKS CONTAIN POWER.”

Danielle Passno uses this sentence to describe her childhood realization that the stories books capture could both delight and confound. In her professional life, she also knew that families can have lots of questions about the appropriateness of books that their children might be reading. It was from this place that Browning’s Tricky Texts series was born.

“At Browning, we want boys to relish reading, and we teach a vast array of texts as part of our commitment to stoking our core value of curiosity in the boys by providing a wide lens on the world,” says Ms. Passno. “Some of these texts are trickier than others, embracing bold (and sometimes controversial) themes in order to explore them.”

The Tricky Texts series brings together Browning parents and educators to discuss a given text that is taught at Browning. “The goal of this series is not to debate whether a particular text should be taught but rather to share understanding about how families can talk with their boys about the ideas they encounter in that text specifically only some stories. As I started reading more expansively, I slowly lost my fear of contradictions and ideas. I began to freely explore the perspectives of others to see if they seemed as plausible and necessarily true as that which had been given to me by my parents. I started to read both what was familiar and what was not, and as I explored texts new to me—The Well of Loneliness, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Desolation Angels, Lolita—I grew up. Remarkably, reading expansively didn’t take me away from my beliefs; rather, it helped me find my authentic home within them. and in school overall,” Ms. Passno says. Browning educators will also learn families’ challenges as they engage with the text, which might not be initially apparent when a faculty member has taught a particular text to the same grade each year. “Some texts excite us, others challenge us. It’s part of the joy of reading in the company of others. Families might respond differently each year,” says Upper School Dean of Student Life Anna LaSala-Goettler, an English teacher who led the discussion with Ms. Passno.“Something special happens for us teachers when we are able to hear from parents who have read the book alongside their son.”

Reading beyond one’s experience is always scary. The uncharted territory feels unreliable, unstable. Trying on the possibility of believing the voices we read—as they stand, not as how we wish they stood—is how we develop understanding and discernment. We shouldn’t immediately believe everything we read, but we should grow to believe some of it. Whether a book reveals that which may be next for us or that which may never be part of our own lives, the act of reading enables us to mature into humans filled with dignity, curiosity, honesty, and purpose. What reading gave me was an opportunity to become whole, and I can think of no greater purpose than to accept that wholeness.

Our first book in the Tricky Texts series was The Absolutely True Diary of a PartTime Indian by Sherman Alexie, a book that our Grade 7 boys are reading this year. The only requirement for attending the hourlong discussion was having read the book. “We had a good discussion, and the parent engagement was really high,” Ms. Passno said. “We look forward to doing more of these in the future.”