On hand May 7 to discuss her novel “Americanah,” the featured fiction title of Arlington Reads 2015, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie drew hundreds of passionate readers to the Arlington (VA) Public Library. Working from the timely Arlington Reads theme of “#BlackLivesMatter,” Ms. Adichie reflected on her life coming to America, her writing process and issues of race, gender and mental health. But perhaps her most personal statement came at the beginning of the program when she told the audience of the fresh trauma of her father’s kidnapping just days earlier in Nigeria. He was freed unharmed on May 5.

The energy coming from the large Arlington Reads audience clearly provided comfort to Ms. Adichie, who graciously concluded the evening with autographs for every person who sought one. Library Director Diane Kresh summed up the appearance as “inspiring, generous, thoughtful. Just the kind of program that touches our hearts and our heads.”

Arlington Reads is made possible by the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.