Marpheen Chann, 31, is a Portland activist and the author of a biography called “Moon in Full: A Modern Day Coming-of-Age Story.” He works as the community impact manager of the Good Shepherd Food Bank and serves on a number of local boards and organizations, including the Portland Planning Board.

Portland author Marpheen Chann’s debut book, “Moon in Full,” is much more than just a coming-of-age story; it is a remarkably open and honest story of a young man’s triumph over adversities most people would refuse to face.

Marpheen Chann, president of Khmer Maine, recently published his memoir, “Moon in Full,” available at local book stores and online from Islandport Press.

Being gay and Asian-American, Marpheen Chann felt like an alien on two levels. His new memoir is titled "Moon in Full: A Modern-Day Coming-of-Age Story."

Chann, a writer and activist, is an Asian-American gay man who was adopted into a white Christian family in rural Maine.

Our panel of authors and book lovers share what they’re reading and hope to read this summer, and offer recommendations for favorite novels, non-fiction, children’s and young adult books and other genres.

The son of a Cambodian refugee, the Portland activist-turned-author spent time in foster homes before being adopted by a family in Naples whose beliefs were at odds with his sexuality.

“It’s that extra step we can take in Portland to remove barriers to participation in our local politics and allows ordinary folks, workers and teachers, to run for office,” Chann said.

Chann’s proposal would keep the mayor as a member of the council, keep a city manager instead of a chief operating officer and eliminate the executive committee to nominate key officials.

“As the first Cambodian American-elected official in Maine, Marpheen Chann has overcome many obstacles in his life. This week, we’re excited to have a healthy conversation about his new memoir, Moon in Full, out next month.”

We celebrate LGBTQ Pride because for too long we have been invisible and forced to live in shame and fear. We celebrate because too many lives have been lost to win us the right to be proud of who we are and to love who we love. And we invite you to celebrate with us, because we couldn’t have reached this point without our LGBTQ allies, and we need your help and support to continue making progress.

If Maine’s senior senator, Susan Collins, votes to confirm Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice, we fear the scales will be tipped in favor of the Trump administration’s unjust and inhumane immigration policies.

The Portland Board of Education voted 4-3 to endorse a resolution urging the City Council to schedule a referendum asking city residents to extend voting rights to non-citizens who are here legally, such as asylum seekers and refugees.

History reveals that who gets to vote and how much our votes matter have less to do with citizenship and more to do with who wields power and who is left disenfranchised. It’s a history of progress and the expansion of our body politic as we struggled with our collective conscience, and as our vision of what and who our representative democracy truly represents changed with the times.

“Who’s ready to resist? Who’s ready to take action?” asked Marpheen Chann, 27, the son of Cambodian refugees and a board member of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, speaking from a microphone at the top of the City Hall steps. “Who is ready to show solidarity with immigrant children, and step up for families?”

Class and identity politics are not mutually exclusive. We are at our best as a society when we appreciate the finer details, nuances, context and intersections of our increasingly diverse nation, while collectively realizing that our individual experiences have a common source in the human condition.

He believes that Portland is undergoing an identity crisis. He understands the instinct of many city officials to embrace most economic activity because there was a time in recent history when storefronts on Congress Street were empty and the Old Port was a place to be avoided. However, he said he’d like to see the city begin valuing itself as an asset.

“This is exactly what immigrants, minorities and nonprofits need,” said board member Marpheen Chann-Berry, who was born to a Cambodian refugee family and recently earned a degree from the University of Maine School of Law. “Your investment will have an impact, a lasting impact. To have immigrants be welcomed in an open space right in downtown Portland means a lot.”