About
Roxanne Chester is an attorney, visual artist and author. As a graduate of Berkeley Law, she spent many years striving to improve the lives of people living in economically challenging situations. With a background in advocacy, Roxanne aims to improve our world by promoting compassion and empathy. Her main tools are radical empathy, diverse perspectives and recognition of our shared humanity. This Is My Bag is her debut book, and she hopes it will spark conversations and empower young readers to actively consider varied perspectives. Roxanne is based in the Bay Area.
Featured Work
This Is My Bag: A Story of the Unhoused
In beautiful illustrations, this picture book depicts various unhoused persons as they find shelter and spend days with their single bag carrying all of their possessions. One man rests on the couch at a friend's house; a woman makes her way through busy streets and sideways glances. The story doesn't try to fill in anyone's backstory but humanizes each person as they find a place to rest. The puppet-like, warm art is from Abraham Matias. Back matter includes discussion questions for kids, an author's note about where she got the idea for this story and resources, and ideas for how to help the unhoused population.
