Bookmark the Blog


THE CONFIDANTE

One of our recommended books is The Confidante by Christopher C. Gorham

For readers of Hidden FiguresA Woman of No Importance, and Eleanor: A Life, the first-ever biography of Anna Marie Rosenberg, whose influence on American history, from the New Deal to the Cold War and beyond, has never before been told. Her life ran parallel to the front lines of history—and her story, though forgotten for too long, is extraordinary, inspiring, and uniquely American.

As FDR’s special envoy to Europe in World War II, she went where FDR couldn’t go. She was among the first Allied women to enter a liberated concentration camp and stood in the Eagle’s Nest,

read more

WALK THROUGH FIRE

One of our recommended books is Walk Through Fire by Yasmine S. Ali

The first book to examine the rarely-acknowledged Waverly Train Disaster of 1978 – the catastrophic accident that changed America forever and led to the formation of FEMA. Coinciding with the 45th anniversary of the event, WALK THROUGH FIRE is a tribute to the first responders, as well as an examination of the strengths and vulnerabilities in rural America.

On the night of February 22, 1978, a devastating freight train derailment drastically altered Waverly, Tennessee, and its place in history. This was one of the worst train explosions of the twentieth century, killing 16 people, injuring hundreds more,

read more

THE STORIES WHITENESS TELLS ITSELF

One of our recommended books is The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself by David Mura

The police murders of two Black men, Philando Castile and George Floyd, frame this searing exploration of the historical and fictional narratives that white America tells itself to justify and maintain white supremacy. From the country’s founding through the summer of Black Lives Matter in 2020, David Mura unmasks how white stories about race attempt to erase the brutality of the past and underpin systemic racism in the present.

Intertwining history, literature, ethics, and the deeply personal, Mura looks back to foundational narratives of white supremacy (Jefferson’s defense of slavery, Lincoln’s frequently minimized racism, and the establishment of Jim Crow) to show how white identity is based on shared belief in the pernicious myths,

read more

RECKONING

One of our recommended books is Reckoning by V

The work of a lifetime from the Tony Award-winning, bestselling author of The Vagina Monologues-political, personal, profound, and more than forty years in the making.

The newest book from V (formerly Eve Ensler), Reckoning invites you to travel the journey of a writer’s and activist’s life and process over forty years, representing both the core of ideas that have become global movements and the methods through which V survived abuse and self-hatred. Seamlessly moving from the internal to the external, the personal to the political, Reckoning is a moving and inspiring work of prose,

read more

CONVERSATIONS WITH BIRDS

One of our recommended books is Conversations with Birds by Priyanka Kumar

“Birds are my almanac. They tune me into the seasons, and into myself.”

So begins this lively collection of essays by acclaimed filmmaker and novelist Priyanka Kumar. Growing up at the feet of the Himalayas in northern India, Kumar took for granted her immersion in a lush natural world. After moving to North America as a teenager, she found herself increasingly distanced from more than human life, and discouraged by the civilization she saw contributing to its destruction. It was only in her twenties, living in Los Angeles and working on films, that she began to rediscover her place in the landscape — and in the cosmos — by way of watching birds.

read more

THESE PRECIOUS DAYS

One of our recommended books is These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays.

“Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.

At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores “what it means to be seen,

read more