NIU alum and former Northern Star reporter Melissa Blake is set to return to NIU to host a reading and discussion of her new book, “Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths About Disabilities.”

The event will occur from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday in the Founders Memorial Library gallery.

Blake is a journalist, writer and disability activist. She has a personal experience with disability, as she was born with Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects bones and muscles.

In 2005, Blake earned a journalism degree from NIU, where she worked as both an editor and writer for the Northern Star.

Throughout her career as a journalist, Blake has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN Opinion, Cosmopolitan and numerous other publications.

In her book, Blake wrote about the true stories of disability and how it gets written about. The book pushes people to take a critical look at the world around them and realize people with disabilities are often overlooked.

Blake, in her book, also mentions stories of people who fought for the disability rights movement in America.

The book will be available for purchase after the talk.

This event is open and free to the public.