Books, essays, podcasts, films, and more that have prompted me to stop and reflect during the month of October.
1. Special Hope Network.
We have been supporters of Special Hope Network for over a decade now, and we are always excited and grateful to see the work they are doing to proclaim belovedness and envision belonging for families in need of affirmation, care, and support in Zambia.
2. Faithful Presence.
What if young people believed that they could make a real difference in the world through their work? What if they could use their education and connections and passions and gifts for real good? Faithful Presence is helping our young adults envision a way of pursuing work that has meaning and serves the common good. Here’s their first round of videos.
3. A Fancy New Restaurant in London, Staffed by the Recently Homeless.
I love stories like this, where a successful restaurateur conceives of a way to employ people experiencing homelessness. There are so many details that speak to the possibilities we have as humans—the founder had his own experience of need due to a cocaine addiction. He set up the restaurant as a first step towards a culinary degree. And the food sounds delicious. It’s a little glimpse of the way an economy based on our common humanity could work and bring blessing.
Two essays about abortion.
Two things get lost in the midst of our political fights about abortion. One, that the ethics and the politics of abortion are not the same. And two, that when we only talk about the individual choices of individual women, we fail to see the collective decisions we are making about when, how, and whether to welcome life.
As I mentioned in a recent Instagram post, I do not agree with either of our major political parties when it comes to abortion, which means I am grateful for people who are writing and thinking about the ethics and not just the politics, as Emma Camp and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson both do in these essays:
Book: The Frozen River.
I haven’t quite finished this novel yet, but I think I can safely recommend it since I’ve been reading it in the middle of the night. It’s a murder mystery set in the 1700s, told from the perspective of a woman who serves as a midwife to her community. It’s a fascinating look at New England culture in the 18th century but also a riveting read.
Essay: Confessions of a Republican Exile.
I appreciated so many things in this essay by David Brooks about his move from his early days of socialism, to his time in the Republican party, to his newfound appreciation (and critique) of the Democratic party.
Podcast: Can A Person With Down Syndrome Find Community & Belonging?
I loved this podcast about what true inclusion looks like and why that’s hard but possible and good. It got me thinking about how our society has been built to reinforce separation based on ability. Community and belonging depends upon both shifting our mindset towards disability and changing the structures and systems that have been operating for so long.
Book: MLK Where Do We Go From Here?
Martin Luther King’s words are no less prophetic now than they were when he wrote them fifty five years ago. What I love most about King’s work is the way he combines the inner work of the Spirit and the outer work of protest and social action, the way he grounds his hopeful vision of a good future in the hard work towards justice here and now.
Memoir: Lovely One: A Memoir by Ketanji Brown Jackson.
I didn’t know much about Justice Jackson other than the adoring photo of her younger daughter Leila at her confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. Now that I’ve read her book, it’s easy to assume that Leila’s smile came from a place of deep love and admiration and delight in her mom. This memoir shares the struggles and joys of parenting her two girls in our modern era. Jackson walks us through the complications of recognizing the needs of her older daughter, Talia, who is autistic, as well as pursuing career dreams with two loving and highly capable and ambitious working parents. I really enjoyed this book.
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