Random Connect Points:
Reba's Stories

(Writer's note: I wrote this review in 2019 shortly after the book came out. The podcast mentioned below is still online and is as relevant today as it was when the interview was done in 2019. This book is a must-read for anyone who thinks they might have an understanding of this complex story). Rarely does a book appeal to all my “reading” senses – well written, important message, compelling story and human connections. “Grace Will Lead Us Home” about the shootings at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church is one of them. J ennifer Berry Hawes  wrote the book while a reporter for the Post and Courier and witnessed first-hand many of the details surrounding this tragedy. Currently she writes for ProPublica. When I read writing by an author whose work really grabs me, I like to mark up the pages and go back and read those favorite lines over and over. This book is dog-eared with turned-down pages, numerous bookmarks and notes scribbled in the margins. For anyone who thinks they...

Every election cycle I think ‘how can things get any worse than this one?’ And I don’t mean with the underhanded antics of the people running and the political meanness we see at every turn. I mean how can things get any worse in terms of voter participation, interest and engagement? In the weeks leading up to this week’s primary, I came to realize how many people I encounter in my daily life who didn’t realize we had a primary election on June 11. Many thought they had to register by party to participate in the primary. Others just plain didn’t care. Most had no idea who they would see on their specific ballot on Tuesday. This concerned me more than it probably should have since I had no real dog in any fight this cycle. But I took to my social platforms, text groups and daily interactions with people to encourage them to vote.  I shared resources I thought might help.  The Election Commission’s website  is a goldmine of information to help people  look at sample ba...

"The Women" by Kristin Hannah  came recommended to me by several people ranging in age from young 20s to late 80s. It’s the Vietnam-era story of a 21year-old nurse, Frankie McGrath, from a wealthy (and rather sheltered) southern California family. She naively volunteers for an Army Nurse Corp tour in Vietnam following the death of her brother in the war. I was initially drawn to the book because my recollection of the Vietnam War is vague. I was 12 when the soldiers returned home. My parents hadn’t allowed us to watch news coverage. I knew one person who had lost a father in the war. I had a POW bracelet. We never really studied Vietnam in school because that era wasn’t quite yet “history” in the late 70s and early 80s. That was my limited context going into this book. While on her first tour, Frankie lives with and works alongside two other nurses from backgrounds vastly different from hers. These three nurses build a lifelong bond of friendship that carries them through...