Banned Book Club

• 14 Survivor Stories, Buncombe County, NC Justice Services – https://www.buncombenc.gov/272/Rebeccas-Story
• A Domestic Violence Survivor’s Story YouTube video (3:42) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No6lGbMywsA
• When My Daughter Became a Victim of Violent Domestic Abuse, I Could No Longer Be Silent from Moms Demand Action for Gun Violence in America – https://momsdemandaction.org/when-my-daughter-became-a-victim-of-violent-domestic-abuse-i-could-no-longer-be-silent/
• From Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF): A 4-part series as told by Brie Alexis, in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in 2018. This is a true story.

• Stories from Survivors – https://safeandequal.org.au/understanding-family-violence/stories/ – This organization is in Victoria, Australia, but there are a ton of resources, studies, and information in addition to these stories. Also, you can see the parallels between the NC & GA stories and realize that this is worldwide, not just in the US.
• 10 Podcasts on Domestic Violence Awareness – https://crimevictimshelpny.org/news/article.768845-10_Podcasts_on_Domestic_Violence_Awareness

The book share session on Feb. 9 was very successful. Many thanks to all who attended and shared a book. On March 9, we will use this list to develop our future reading selections. (Thanks to Beth Hamilton for taking notes and typing up the list.)

1. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. The book chronicles the story of a neurosurgeon who is diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. Explores questions of life, meaning and mortality.

2. There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone. The book uses the stories of five Atlanta families to expose the crisis of the “working homeless,” where full-time workers cannot afford housing. Author argues for housing to be treated as a human right.3. The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman. Historical fiction coming of age story set in 1930s rural Virginia. Focus on a young immigrant mother’s struggle against the eugenics movement.

4. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. A novel about a mysterious, kind-hearted older man named Theo. He moves to the fictional southern city of Golden, GA and anonymously brings joy to its residents by buying local art and returning it to its subjects, sparking stories and connections.  Originally self-published. It became a bestselling novel.

5. Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The author blends botany with Indigenous wisdom, particularly from her Potawatomi heritage, to explore humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

6. Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict. Historical fiction that asks what kind of woman could have inspired an American dynasty. A book on the class struggle in the rise of the early American elite. The story of a brilliant woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie’s transformation from ruthless industrialist to philanthropist.

7. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. A novel that tells the life story of Sybil Van Antwerp, a retired lawyer in her seventies, through her letters and emails. The book explores themes of aging, forgiveness and memory.

8. Teddy and Booker T: How Two American Icons Blazed a Path for Racial Equality by Brian Kilmeade. Book tells the story of how two wildly different Americans faced the challenge of keeping America moving toward the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation.

9. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad. A memoir and cultural critique that explores the hypocrisy of Western imperialism, the experience of being an Arab immigrant in the West, and the moral reckoning following the Gaza genocide.

10. Raising Hare, A Memoir by Chloe Dalton. A nonfiction book about the author’s experiences rescuing and raising a baby hare (leveret) she found during the pandemic lockdown, exploring themes of human-animal relationships, freedom and nature.

11. Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Gerald Brom. A dark fantasy novel set in 1666 Colonial New England, blending historical horror with folklore, witchcraft and paganism. The book explores themes of good vs evil, identity, and religious hypocrisy.