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TELL ME GOOD THINGS

One of our recommended books is Tell Me Good Things by James Runcie

A profound examination of grief and a great celebration of love by internationally bestselling author James Runcie.

In early 2020, as the world sunk into the pandemic, James Runcie and his wife Marilyn Imrie were going through a different, far more personal tragedy. After 35 years of miraculously happy marriage, they learned that the painful, frustrating symptoms Marilyn had been experiencing for two years were a sign of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. With this diagnosis, during the isolation and strangeness of the pandemic, James and Marilyn’s lives were transformed.

Now, in his startling and intimate memoir, James tells the story of Marilyn’s illness and death—in all its moments of tragedy,

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BLACK WOMEN WRITERS AT WORK

One of our recommended books is Black Women Writers At Work edited by Claudia Tate

“Black women writers and critics are acting on the old adage that one must speak for oneself if one wishes to be heard.” —Claudia Tate, from the introduction

Long out of print, Black Women Writers at Work is a vital contribution to Black literature in the 20th century.

Through candid interviews with Maya Angelou, Toni Cade Bambara, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alexis De Veaux, Nikki Giovanni, Kristin Hunter, Gayl Jones, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Sonia Sanchez, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker, Margaret Walker, and Sherley Anne Williams, the book highlights the practices and critical linkages between the work and lived experiences of Black women writers whose work laid the foundation for many who have come after.

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AWE

One of our recommended books is Awe by Dacher Keltner

From a foremost expert on the science of emotions and consultant to Pixar’s Inside Out, a groundbreaking and essential exploration into the history, science, and greater understanding of awe

Awe is mysterious. How do we begin to quantify the goose bumps we feel when we see the Grand Canyon, or the utter amazement when we watch a child walk for the first time? How do you put into words the collective effervescence of standing in a crowd and singing in unison, or the wonder you feel while gazing at centuries-old works of art? Up until fifteen years ago,

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THE WISE HOURS

One of our recommended books is The Wise Hours by Miriam Darlington

Owls have existed for over sixty million years, and in the relatively short time we have shared the planet with these majestic birds they have ignited the human imagination. But even as owls continue to captivate our collective consciousness, celebrated British nature writer Miriam Darlington finds herself struck by all she doesn’t know about the true nature of these enigmatic creatures.

Darlington begins her fieldwork in the British Isles with her teenage son, Benji. As her avian fascination grows, she travels to France, Serbia, Spain, Finland, and the frosted Lapland borders of the Arctic for rare encounters with the Barn Owl,

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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,

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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,

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