This Week's Distractions

It has been another interesting week. The many books I have stacked up to read, is ever-changing: what library book arrived, what happened in the news, what new publications tempted me.

New releases read included: 

The Eagles of Heart Mountain: A True Story of Football, Incarceration, and Resistance in World War II America by Bradford Pearson
   In the spring of 1942, the United States government forced 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona and sent them to incarceration camps across the West. Nearly 14,000 of them landed on the outskirts of Cody, Wyoming, at the base of Heart Mountain.
   Behind barbed wire fences, they faced racism, cruelty, and frozen winters. Trying to recreate comforts from home, many established Buddhist temples and sumo wrestling pits. Kabuki performances drew hundreds of spectators—yet there was little hope.
   That is, until the fall of 1943, when the camp’s high school football team, the Eagles, started its first season and finished it undefeated, crushing the competition from nearby, predominantly white high schools. Amid all this excitement, American politics continued to disrupt their lives as the federal government drafted men from the camps for the front lines—including some of the Eagles. As the team’s second season kicked off, the young men faced a choice to either join the Army or resist the draft. Teammates were divided, and some were jailed for their decisions. 

The Center of Everything: A Novel by Jamie Harrison
   For Polly, the small town of Livingston, Montana, is a land charmed by raw, natural beauty and a close network of family that extends back generations. But the summer of 2002 finds Polly at a crossroads: a recent head injury has scattered her perception of the present, bringing to the surface long-forgotten events. As Polly’s many relatives arrive for a family reunion during the Fourth of July holiday, a beloved friend goes missing on the Yellowstone River. Search parties comb the river as carefully as Polly combs her mind, and over the course of one fateful week, Polly arrives at a deeper understanding of herself and her larger-than-life relatives. Weaving together the past and the present, from the shores of Long Island Sound to the landscape of Montana, The Center of Everything examines with profound insight the memories and touchstones that make up a life and what we must endure along the way.

My travel friends started talking about Egypt in 2022, so my library hold arrived in time to explore: 

The Book of Two Ways: A Novel by Jodi Picoult
   Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband, but a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.
   Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, her beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, where she helps ease the transition between life and death for her clients.
   But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a job she once studied for, but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.
   As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried beside them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well-lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices…or do our choices make us? And who would you be, if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?
   This book was not what I thought it was going to be, it was much better! Dawn’s past and present lives revolve around ways to view death. As a death doula, she helps patients and families with end of life issues which balances wonderfully with the Egyptology and the ending begs to be discussed.

I am attending the virtual American Library Association Mid-Winter conference, where Ruby Bridges was interviewed about her recent book. 

This Is Your Time by Ruby Bridges
   Written as a letter from civil rights activist and icon Ruby Bridges to the reader, This Is Your Time is both a recounting of Ruby’s experience as a child who had to be escorted to class by federal marshals when she was chosen to be one of the first black students to integrate into New Orleans’ all-white public school system and an appeal to generations to come to effect change.
   This beautifully designed volume features photographs from the 1960s and from today, as well as stunning jacket art from The Problem We All Live With, the 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell depicting Ruby’s walk to school.
   I was shocked to learn some of the facts of six year old Ruby’s experience. She talked about meeting her teacher, who was white—she had never spoken to a white person. The most shocking fact is that she was in a classroom by herself, is that really integration? The book is written for young adults but every age should know this story.

Finally, I watched The Inauguration this week and among the many inspiring moments was the poetry reading by 22 year old, Amanda Gorman. Not surprisingly, a special edition of her poem will be released in April. 

The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman
   A special edition of the poem “The Hill We Climb,” read at the inauguration of the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden, on January 20, 2021
   On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet, at age twenty-two, to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Her inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb,” is now available to cherish in this special edition.

Available for pre-order from your favorite independent bookseller 

 Fact & Fiction  or  Bookshop