First-time author Adam Shepard will speak at Coastal Carolina University at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28 about his experiences depicted in his book "Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream." The event, part of the University's "Big Read" program, will be held in Wheelwright Auditorium and is free and open to all freshmen, although tickets are required.

The incoming freshman class was assigned to read "Scratch Beginnings," a recollection of Shepard's adventures in Charleston following his college graduation. Prompted by his frustrations with "the poor attitudes that seem to have swept over my peer group," he decides to test the vitality of the American dream. Beginning his journey with only one 8-by-10-foot tarp, a sleeping bag, an empty gym bag, $25, and the clothes on his back, Shepard sets out "to find if the American Dream is still alive, or if it has, in fact, been drowned out by the greedy and the lazy."

Shepard graduated from Merrimack College in 2006 with a degree in business management and Spanish. He lives in Raleigh, N.C.

For more information, contact the University's First Year Experience office at 843-349-2934.