Blink Book Review #10: “The First Ladies” by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Another historical fiction for the win with “The First Ladies” by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. After I really enjoyed “The Personal Librarian” earlier in the summer, this newest book by the same authors piqued my interest.

This is the story of friendship, political will, and a passion for righting wrongs that First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Black activist Mary McLeod Bethune shared. 

Many of the issues familiar in today’s culture – race, gender and divisive politics - played a big role in how these two women made their way through their individual and shared lives. Together, they wielded a behind-the-scenes power that changed the course of the civil rights movement in our country.

Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune’s lives ran parallel and intersected repeatedly both in spite of and because of their shared vision for civil rights, equal education and social justice in the country. Plus, they forged a personal friendship that crossed racial lines unheard of at the time. The book is structured between alternating chapters in each woman’s voice which made the audio version particularly enjoyable.

After doing a little more research on Mary McLeod Bethune because of her roots in Mayesville, South Carolina, I realized that this book, like “The Personal Librarian,” is so soundly grounded in historical accuracy. As a matter of fact, one of the stories Mrs. Bethune tells in the book is about how her passion for reading was ignited as a very young child. Interestingly, that same story showed up in a recent column by the SC Superintendent of Education about the importance of reading.

###

In 2022, I set out to get off the screens and back to books for the summer. I set a goal of reading a book a week. My accountability was writing short Blink Book Reviews (so short you can read them in a blink). Join my Blink Book Review Facebook group to follow along for the 2023 summer series. 

 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

I love hearing from readers. Let me know what you think! Please sign your name if you're not already signed into Blogger so I can see who's posting (otherwise it shows up as anonymous).

Most popular posts

Are you a "wordie"? Celebrate National Word Nerd Day

Image
Today is National Word Nerd day. This might not prompt the same reason for celebration as National Ice Cream Day or National Take Your Pet to Work Day for most folks. But for people like me, National Word Nerd Day is a chance to get your word freak on. In anticipation of today's celebration, I was reading back through some of my previous  posts about my pride in being a "wordie" (I think I like that description better than word nerd) - describing pet grammar peeves , writing poetry about my love of a purple pen or describing the joy of receiving a hand-written note . Who else but a dedicated wordie could write about the relationship between smoking a pork butt and writing ? A quick glance around my home and office illustrates it’s clear I qualify as a world class word nerd. Just a few examples: ·     Your choice of clothes illustrates your word nerdiness. My “grammar police” t-shirt is always on the top of my t-shirt pile when I open my drawer. I have jewelry m
Read more

Flossie - A tribute to a much-loved dog

Image
Our sweet, gentle Flossie left us on Friday after bringing us six years of joy and the most uncomplicated and consistent love that only a dog can offer. Flossie came to us from PetsInc during the September 2018 Hurricane Florence. I had gone to PetsInc to walk dogs that had been evacuated from the coast. Bringing home a dog was the last thing on my mind that afternoon. As I was leaving my shift, I spotted her in a small pen in the office where she enthusiastically greeted visitors as they came into the building. Our eyes met, and I was drawn to her for a few belly scratches and ear rubs. I asked if I could take her for a spin around the property. Long story short (read the full "gotcha" story here ), she came home with me. She was named after the hurricane that took me to PetsInc that muggy, wet September afternoon. The sassy nickname Flossie seemed to fit her better than the stodgier sounding Florence. We didn’t know exactly how old she was, but the vet said her teeth indi
Read more

'Tis the season for reading plans

Image
Isn’t it great how the new year gives us license to both look back and look forward at the same time? It’s a time for reflection and resolutions. While I do my best to avoid hard core new year’s resolutions I’ll never keep, I do enjoy reflecting on my past year’s reading choices and looking ahead to what might be on my 2024 reading list. First, a quick look back. I didn’t set a reading goal for the year other than to read more, screen less. My “Blink Book Review” series gave me some accountability in that area. The books with yellow checks are part of that series. Are the reviews are available here . A few superlatives: Favorite: “Lessons in Chemistry” by a mile! Unfortunately, I didn’t write a review, but this book is inspiring, funny, insightful and beautifully written. The dog, named Six-Thirty, was my favorite character. (The tv series is OK – the book is stellar.) Most inspiring: “The Art of Calm.” A former Columbia resident, Roger Hutchison shares beautifully his journe
Read more