Sunday, January 27, 2019
Awesome Books
Elephant Company
The Amazing Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II
by Vicki Croke
Except for loving birds, I don't think of myself as an animal person. But this story is totally gripping. It takes you through Burma (Myanmar) from the end of World War I into World War II. The hero bonds with, understands, and cherishes the elephants used to drag and push teak logs into the water. The bond he forges provides a means of saving many lives.
A Hope More Powerful than the Sea
One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival
by Melissa Fleming
I couldn't put this book down once I began reading. It was so helpful to read about her youth in Syria and how the ongoing war began. My heart was in my mouth when this young woman who does not swim finds herself stranded in the Mediterranean Sea clutching two infants. Her strength and courage is mind boggling.
The Girl with Seven Names
Escape from North Korea
by Hyeonseo Lee and David John
A young woman wanting to experience life outside of North Korea leaves on what she thinks is a lark only to discover that she has left her previous life, endangering the family she left behind. After a decade hiding in plain sight in China, she seeks asylum in South Korea. Finally experiencing the freedom she sought, she risks everything to get her family out of North Korea
The Truths We Hold
An American Journey
by Kamala Harris
Not widely known outside of California where she was Attorney General before becoming one of her state's senators in 2016, Kamala Harris is a very strong woman. With parents from Jamaica and India who were active in the Civil rights movement, she and her sister were raised by her mother to be successful Black girls. Her successful campaigns for public office and the innovative efforts she spearheaded as a public defender will open your eyes to the amazing things that can be done through commitment and hard work.
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5 comments:
LaDona, thank you for these. I highly recommend "The December Project: An Extraordinary Rabbi and a Skeptical Seeker Confront Life's Greatest Mystery" by Sara Davidson. Almost weekly over two years, she interviewed the founder of Jewish Renewal, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. The subject is the December of his (rather amazing) life, as hers approaches also. For nonfiction, it is beautifully written, though easy to put down simply to avoid the personal address!
What an eclectic group of books. I suspect that a broad spectrum of interests, and stimulants, is strongly related to creativity. Best wishes on the new book. Terry
Great to hear you're reading such interesting and inspiring books, LiDona--unusual stories of survival. I'll have to check into these.
And congratulations on your work on your upcoming book--this one I definitely want to get my mitts on!
Yikes. Thank you for these great suggestions.
Thanks to earlier conversations with you, I recently read Elephant Company and A Hope More Powerful. They were both amazing stories to inspire each of us. I'll now read your other two recommendations, as you always have great insights for us.
Here are some recommendations for you & your readers. At Don Woodcock's suggestion, I recently read In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Culleton Mosionier, Heart Berries by Terese Maine Mailhot and Half-Breed by Maria Campbell. Each of these books is about and by Canadian-American Metis women. They are historical and current survival stories about how we continue to treat non-treaty native people in both countries. Don't read them all together unless you are trying to get your anger at injustice out in front so you can lead a rally or change a law! Each one is a powerful story; together, they point directly to the need for change.
I also recently read Witness by Ariel Berger, about Elie Weisel's teaching. Excellent! Also There There by Tommy Orange, about his growing up poor and tribal. More fodder for using justifiable anger to motivate!
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