What inspires you? In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of advocacy for civil rights for people of color through non-violent protests and peaceful marches we are featuring three of his books this month in our suggested reading. We also have a few suggestions to help you get to know our newly inaugurated leaders who are making history with presidential and vice-presidential firsts plus some reading just for fun. Enjoy!
Strength to Love by Martin Luther King Jr. – According to his wife, Coretta Scott King, this book exemplifies why her husband chose nonviolence and relied on his faith and the ability of good people to triumph over evil.
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. (edited by James M. Washington) – This book contains Martin Luther King, Jr.'s essential thoughts on nonviolence, social policy, integration, black nationalism, the ethics of love and hope, and more.
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? By Martin Luther King Jr. - In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr rented a house in Jamaica with no telephone and isolated himself from the demands of the civil rights movement to complete this book - his final manuscript. Dr. King reveals his thoughts, plans, and dreams for America's future - the need for better jobs, higher wages, decent housing, and quality education. He demands an end to global suffering, because in his words, “Humankind-for the first time-has the resources and technology to eradicate poverty.”
Promise Me Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden – In 2013, Beau Biden was diagnosed with an inoperable malignant brain tumor. As the family gathered for Thanksgiving in 2014, Beau was more focused on his family than his own welfare. Joe Biden tells the poignant story of being torn between his commitments as Vice President and his desire to grab every moment with his eldest son. Joe relied on family, his deep abiding faith, and friends, especially his close friendship with Barack Obama. It’s an intimate look at Biden as a father, grandfather, husband, and friend.
Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself by Jill Biden – Jill Biden wanted two things growing up – a loving marriage like her parents’ and a career. After the end of her first marriage, she focused on her teaching career believing love might not come her way again. She recalls the joys and challenges of a new love and building a new family without abandoning the career she cherishes in this intimate memoir.
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala D. Harris – an intimate look at the life of our first woman Vice President from her experiences growing up the daughter of immigrants, becoming a lawyer and crusader for justice, to being selected as Joe Biden’s running mate and what she hopes to accomplish as our Vice President.
The Day She Came Back by Amanda Prowse – When the free-spirited grandmother who raised her dies, Victoria grieves, but draws strength from the love they shared. When a strange woman attends the funeral claiming to be Victoria’s long-lost mother, her world is turned upside down. Why was she told her mother was dead? Can Victoria forgive her family for this deception? Why would her grandmother lie?
Escape to the French Farmhouse by Jo Thomas – After Del and her husband Ollie mover to Provence to start a new life, they’re soon slated for a move to England until Del realizes what she really needs is a life in Provence without Ollie. Left with a crumbling farmhouse, a mortgage, and a few lavender plants, Del finds an old cookbook in a quaint shop ran by an interesting man and begins cooking. Can she find the recipe for happiness?
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – The Vigne sisters were identical twins raised together in a small southern town. They ran away at 16 to find a better life. Years later one sister has returned to her roots, but the other is living a lie – married to a white man who has no idea his wife is black. This is a story about family identity and love pitted against the destructive power of secrets.
The Searcher by Tana French – After 25 years on the Chicago police force and a recent divorce, Cal Hooper buys a fixer-upper in an Irish village and plans to open a pub and live a quiet life. When a local kid whose brother has gone missing persuades Cal to investigate, Cal discovers that his quaint village harbors deadly secrets.