Jochebed: a mother's love sets in motion God's plan for deliverance

 Jochebed is one of the women Moses can call mother. Her name means “The Lord is Glory” and she lived a life which would display God’s glory. She lived as slave and under great oppression, chose to save her child and trust God. At great risk, she hid her son and when she couldn’t hide him anymore, she placed him in the river, hoping he would be saved. Jochebed is another example of God using ordinary people for extraordinary things. A simple item played an important role in the story of Moses: the basket. How could a simple woman and a simple basket play into God’s great plan? Jochebed was the beginning as God began to prepare his people for the great tasks that needed to be done to lead His people out of Egypt. It was her love, faith and courage that saved her child and ultimately her people.

Three hundred years after the death of Joseph, the Israelites became so numerous that Pharaoh feared their possible uprising. Pharaoh commanded that each Hebrew male child killed after birth, but the Hebrew midwives feared God’s wrath more than Pharaoh’s. They refused to follow this order, claiming that the babies were born before they arrived. Then Pharaoh commanded his soldiers to search out and smother every newborn male in the waters of the Nile. Imagine the screams of the mothers echo across the Hebrew camp as their sons were torn from their arms. Jochebed and her husband, Amram, had a plan and they prayed. After she gave birth to her son, she hid him for three months. Her older children, Miriam, and Aaron kept quiet about their baby brother. Remembering that God spared Isaac (Genesis 22:12), she laid her son in a waterproofed papyrus basket and placed him in the basket in the river. She walked away, praying that God’s protection would be on her son. And it was. Pharaoh’s daughter spots the basket in the reeds as she came to the river to bathe. She names him Moses meaning “I drew him from out of the water.”

Baskets is at the core of this story. As one of the many vessels used for a variety of tasks in the ancient world. In the home, baskets stored food. In the fields, they were used to carry clay for bricks. And baskets as luggage to store supplies on a journey. Made from plant materials, baskets were made into a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the job needed. A basket hid Moses in Jochebed’s home for three months (Exodus 2:2). A basket protected Moses from the dangers of the Nile (Exodus 2:3). The disciples used 12 large baskets to gather up the leftovers at the feeding of the 5,000 (Matthew 14:20). A large basket was used to lower Paul out of a window to escape prison (Acts 9:25). God uses the ordinary for extraordinary tasks. Ordinary items, ordinary people and ordinary events to display His glory and amazing will. The Bible is filled with ordinary men and women doing extraordinary things. He still uses the ordinary today as he did in Jochebed’s day.

God kept Moses safe midst extraordinary dangers and evil. Through two women, a slave, and a princess, he persevered the life of Israel’s future deliverer and the entire Jewish race. According to the Bible, Jochebed saw that her son was no ordinary child and was determined to save him (Exodus 2:2, Acts 7:20, Hebrews 11:23). Was it just a mother’s love to see her child as extraordinary? Or was God giving her an insight to the plan He had for her baby? She had a great faith that God would save her son as she walked away from the river. Did she truly know he would be fine? I don’t think she did. In the animated film, Prince of Egypt (1998), an animated film features Jochebed taking her infant son to the river. I always loved this moment as it is very emotional scene and as a mother now, it is even more powerful. I can imagine the heartbreak and uncertainty in her mind as she placed Moses in the river; but her faith overruled her doubts. As parents, do we have the same faith in God for our own children?

In conclusion, Jochebed is the hero in Moses’ story. She took great risk to hide him for three months when it was ordered to have him killed. It took faith to take her son to the river. Her greatest joy is that God not only saved her son from the river but restored her child to her. Tradition holds that she took care of him until he was weaned at about 2 years. I can imagine her second heartbreak as her son left her house once again. But she still had faith that God had great plans for him. A simple woman took a simple basket and her faith and placed her son in the river. Could you imagine what we could do in simple every day situations with simple every day items with just an ounce of faith? With love, faith, and a prayer, Jochebed set God’s plan for deliverance in motion.

Critical Race Theory: what it is, its origins and its critics

 Critical Race Theory came to my attention when it was announced in September, President Donald Trump and the White House Office of Management and Budget would take the steps to cancel funding for training in Critical Race Theory among federal agencies. Their reasoning is it was a divisive un-American propaganda. After this announcement, the news and the internet exploded with outrage. People were proclaiming how dare he?!?! And it was a step backward. It was pushing the white supremacy agenda. I had no idea what Critical Race Theory is and why people were so upset. I had never heard it before. And like I have done with many other terms, I decided to investigate the theory. In 2002, over 20 American law schools offered Critical Race Theory courses. In addition to law, Critical Race Theory is taught in the fields including education, political science, women’s studies, and ethnic studies.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a theoretical framework in the social sciences that examines society and culture as they relate to race, law, and power. It developed out of critical theory of social philosophy where social problems are influenced and created more by societal structures and cultural assumptions than by individual and psychological factors. A few of the important scholars in CRT includes Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, and Camara Phyllis Jones. Critical Race Theory began in the 1980s as people of color students art Harvard Law school organized protests the lack of racial diversity in the curriculum as well as in students and facility. The students supported Professor Derrick Bell’s racial law courses to be taught by a faculty of color. After the school ignored their required hired two white civil rights activists. A number of students boycotted and organized to develop an alternative course using Derrick Bell’s Race, Racism and American Law (1973, 1^st edition). Harvard Law School continued to ignore the students requests led to the creation of Critical Race Theory in 1987 as an offshoot of critical legal studies. According to Crenshaw, "one might say that CRT was the offspring of a post-civil rights institutional activism that was generated and informed by an oppositionalist orientation toward racial power” (Gottesman, 2016).

There are several themes in CRT. Rather than overwhelm my readers with the information, I will discuss a few. First, CRT criticizes liberalism. CRT favor a more aggressive approach as opposed to liberalism’s cautious approach and rejects affirmative action, color blindness, role modeling (emulating a successful person) and merit principle (goods and services are received through talent, effort, and achievement) (Delgado & Stefancic, 1993). Second, CRT uses storytelling, counter-storytelling or “naming one’s own reality.” It is the use of narratives to explain and explore experiences of racial oppression (Delgado & Stefancic, 1993). Third, CRT offers revisionist interpretations of American civil rights laws and progress. Derrick Bell argued that civil rights advances for blacks coincided with the self-interest of white elitists. Mary L Dudziak (1998) suggests that the civil rights legislations were passed to improve the US image to third world countries as the US needed allies during the Cold War. Lastly, institutional racism. According to Camara Phyllis Jones (2002) the structures, policies, practices, and norms result in the differential access to the goods, services, and opportunities by race. Historically, institutional racism was slavery, segregation, internment camps and reservations. Modern examples are bank lending practices, housing contracts, profiling by law enforcement and representation in news and media.

Many of the Critical Race Theory critics take issue with its foundations in postmodernisms and reliance on moral relativism and social constructionism. Richard Posner, a judge for the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (1981-2017), argued that critical race theorists have “succumbed completely to postmodernist absurdity” and “radical legal egalitarianism” (1997). Alex Kozinski, a judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1985-2017), argued that CRT is a philosophy which “raises insuperable barriers to mutual understanding” and makes valid exchange of ideas impossible (1997). George Will (1996) argued that CRT’s use of storytelling and the insistence of racism “so institutionalized that all blacks are victims by definition” and not by an “identifiable act of discrimination.” Eleanor Krasne (2020) argued that CRT, rooted in Marxism, doesn’t allow for meaningful discourse that “questioning their ideas amount to tacit support of racism and makes you a racist.” She further states that “you either agree with the left’s worldview or you are an enemy of all that is good” (Krasne, 2020). Dan Subotnik also argues that leaving whites out of the race conversation doesn’t help anyone. “White males tempted to participate in the conversation were condemned in advance as interlopers, even imperialists” (Subotnik, 1998). Essentially whites were, and still, are told to step aside, sit down, and shut up, you have no say in the matter as you would not understand.

For far too long, minorities have been kept out of history, their roles pushed to the background and ignored and left out the conversations. There's no denying it. They have fought to be included in the history lessons and the conversation about today’s issues, to have their current contributions counted and celebrated as they should. However, there are a few are now enacting their revenge as they turn the tables on whites. “You left us out, now it’s your turn.” Critical Race Theory, at first look, seems like a good idea; however, in practice, it is an “agree with me or you’re my enemy” paradigm. It is still racism when the roles are reversed. An adage says, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” Repaying evil with evil does not overcome evil. Evil is only overcome with kindness. Human nature has a long way to go.

 

References

 

Delgado, Richard and Stefancic, Jean (1993). Critical Race Theory: An Annotated Bibliography. Virginia Law Review. 79 (2): 461–516.

 

Dudziak, Mary L. (November 1998). Desegregation as a Cold War Imperative. Stanford Law Review. 41(1):61-120.

 

Gottesman, Isaac (2016). Critical Race Theory and Legal Studies. The Critical Turn in Education: From Marxist Critique to Poststructuralist Feminism to Critical Theories of Race. London, England: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1317670957.

 

Jones, Camara Phyllis (2002). Confronting Institutionalized Racism. Phylon. 50(1/2): 7-22.

 

Krasne, Eleanor (June 29, 2020). How Leftists’ Critical Race Theory Poisons Our Discussion of Racism. The Heritage Foundation. www.heritage.org/civil-society/commentary/how-leftists-critical-race-theory-poisons-our-discussion-racism. Retrieved October 18, 2020.

 

Kozinski, Alex (November 2, 1997). Bending the Law. The New York Times Archives. www.archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/11/02/reviews/971102.02kosinst.html. Retrieved October 17, 2020.

 

Posner, Richard A. (October 13, 1997). The Skin Trade. The New Republic.

My Sister's Husband: a story of jealousy, secrets and sisters

 My Sister’s Husband by Nicola Marsh is an intense story of sisters, family secrets and jealousy. The opening line in the prologue states it clearly “family can be toxic” with “secrets, half-truths, mysteries, and outright lies.” The story opens with Brooke coming home to Martino Bay, California for her sister, Freya’s wedding after being gone for 11 years. She is also coming home to see her Aunt Alice the only mother she has ever known and who is in failing health. As soon as she comes home, Brooke realizes there is more going on than she thought. She recognizes Freya’s fiancé, and the decline of Alice’s health doesn’t add up. Brooke decides to figure out what happen to Alice and what led to her rapid decline. Told between three perspectives, Brooke and Freya, and Alice in the past, the reader is taken on a journey with many twists and turns. Will Brooke find out the truth? Will the truth set them free or drive them further apart?

Wow! What a book! From the opening prologue to the last chapter, the story will twist and turn as you try to figure out what happened and what is going on. It is the story of two sets of sisters: Brooke and Freya and Alice and Diana, Brooke, and Freya’s mother. As I read the interactions of the sisters, I am so glad that I do not have that relationship with my own sisters. It was hard to like or relate to these women though I found Brooke more likable especially as the story progressed. There are a few secrets that I guesses at, which turned out to be correct, but just when I thought I had it figured out, Ms. Marsh still had a few twists that I didn’t see coming! My only complaint is with Alice’s perspective, it was hard to determine when the events she talked about happened. Overall, I really enjoyed My Sister’s Husband and I highly recommend it. It is a roller coaster ride that you do not want to miss!

 

My Sister’s Husband is available in paperback and eBook

The Lost Husband: a story of forgiveness and moving forward

 The Lost Husband by Katherine Center is the story of Libby Moran, a widow with two young children, trying to find a new normal. After the sudden death of her husband, Danny, Libby was forced to stay with her hypercritical and narcissistic mother, Marsha. For two years, she suffered the snide and berating comments from her mother and trying to help her young children, Abby and Tank, pick up the pieces of their lives. Then suddenly, one day, her crazy Aunt Jean sends her a letter that offers her an escape. Jean needs help on her farm in the Texas Hill country. Libby finds herself packing up her minivan and hitting the road with her kids without a second thought. For a city girl, life on the farm is a culture shock, but she finds herself enjoying the strenuous work. She feels something familiar in the quiet of the country and Libby starts to find peace and a new purpose.

The Lost Husband is a sweet, funny, heartbreaking and yet encouraging story of grief, life and moving forward. Each character is flawed and battling their own demons. Libby must deal with the guilt she carries from the last conversation she had with Danny. Jean holds a secret of her own, afraid that if it is revealed, she will lose Libby. And O’Connor, the shaggy and gruff farm manager, is battling his own guilt and the weight of his secrets. Yet together, these three find a life that is strong, rewarding and a family. A film version of The Lost Husband is available on Netflix and Prime Video rental as well as DVD, starring Leslie Bibb as Libby and Josh Duhamel as O’Connor. The film didn’t have the same impact as the book did; however, I recommend watching it after you’ve read the book. Of course, I recommend The Lost Husband.

 

 

The Lost Husband is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

 

The Giver of Stars v The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: similar stories?

It is not uncommon that books will be published that feature an historical event. In recent years there have been many books which feature stories of the French Resistance during World War II. To some, It is unusual for two books published in the same year to feature the same historical event and have similar plot points. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes was released in October 2019 and The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson was released earlier that year in May 2019. I already had a copy of Book Woman when my aunt sent me a copy of Giver. As I started to read Giver, I realized it featured the same historical event as Book Woman. I read several reviews which accused Ms. Moyes of plagiarism. I was curious how close these books really are. So, I decided to do a comparison and contrast review of both books instead of separate reviews. I will discuss their similarities as well as their differences and my preference.  

The Giver of Stars is the story of Alice who marries Bennet to escape her stifling life in England, but the reality strikes as small-town Kentucky proves to be just as stifling. When the opportunity comes to deliver books for Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library as part of the Works Progress Administration, Alice signs on much to the chagrin of her husband and father in law. She quickly makes friends with the other librarians, especially their leader, Margery, a no nonsense, self-sufficient woman who is going to live life on her own terms and no man is going to tell her otherwise. It is a story of loyalty, justice, humanity, and love as they are committed to bring books and knowledge to people who never had access before. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is the story of Cussy Mary Carter, a traveling librarian in her hometown of Troublesome Creek. She is not only a book woman; she is the last of her kind as her skin is s shade of blue unlike anyone else. Not everyone likes Cussy’s family or the library project but Cussy is determined to bring the joy of books to the hill people of the Appalachias despite the prejudice and suspicion that surrounds her. Inspired by the true phenomenon of the blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the Pack Horse Library, it is a story of courage, strength, and determination despite the odds.

The books have in theme of life in rural Kentucky and featuring the Pack Horse Librarians. The plot points are where their similarities are too coincidental. Ms Richardson found (Obaro, 2019) found eight eerily similar aspects. I will discuss a few that stood out to me. First, there is an attack on a librarian by a town vagrant. Margery is attacked by Clem McCullough, who is determined to seek revenge and thus continuing a long-standing family feud. Cussy is attacked by Vester Fraizer, a pastor who is convinced that her blue skin is the work of the devil. Second, there is a black librarian when the historical record does not indicate that blacks were a part of the traveling libraries. In Giver, Sophia is a black woman who is trained as a librarian who runs the physical library and helps keep the records of who has what books. In Book Woman, Queenie is a black woman who travels the mountains with the other librarians. Both women leave the small towns to work in city libraries and write letters back. Third, an October wedding of the main characters. Margery marries her sweetheart and longtime lover Sven after she gives birth to their daughter who is three months old at the time. Cussy marries Jackson, a mountain man who has sought her affection for years, after she adopts a baby girl when her parents died after her birth. She is also three months old at the time of the marriage.

 

The main differences in the books focus on aspects of the storytelling. First, the books have different narration styles. In Giver, the narration is in the third person with Alice Van Cleve as the main character, although Margery drives much of the action. In Book Woman, the narration is in the first person as Cussy drives the story. Second, each book features different aspects of life in their respective small towns. In Giver, Margery must deal with the blood feud between her family and the McCulloughs. She wants to part of it and wants to stay out of it. Clem McCullough, of course, refuses to let her slide. There is no mention of any blue skinned people. In Book Woman, the focus is on Cussy and her life as a blue skinned person. Cussy’s condition is inspired by the real-life Fugate family of Hazard, Kentucky and their congenital disease of methemoglobinemia, a condition which features elevated levels of methemoglobin in the blood, causing various symptoms including cyanosis (blue tinged skin). Blood feuds are hinted at as Cussy comes across individuals who are fighting against certain families, but it is not a main theme. Third, while both books feature a coal mine and the trouble surrounding it, Giver has the coal mine drive an important dramatic event in the story while Book Woman, the coal mine is simply a part of the community and does not drive any real event in the story.

In conclusion, these books are my first reads by both authors/ Before reading Giver, I was only familiar with Ms. Moyes by name. As both books are familiar enough to lead readers to wonder if Ms Moyes has previous knowledge of Ms. Richardson’s book while writing hers. However, why would a writer of Ms. Moyes’s talent and renown, copy the story of a relatively unknown author? Is it possible that both women, researching a similar event, in a similar area of the country, could write similar stories? I think it is an answer for the reader to decide. Overall, I enjoyed both books. Despite the similarities and the suspicions surrounding these books, I have to give the edge to The Giver of Stars as it was a fast paced, action packed story with great characters. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek was good; however, it was a slower paced book with the ending feeling rushed. I recommend both books and urge each reader to decide for themselves if the books are too alike be coincidental.

 

Reference

 

Obaro, Toni (October 7, 2019). "Me Before You" Author Jojo Moyes Has Been Accused Of Publishing A Novel With "Alarming Similarities" To Another Author's Book. BuzzFeed News. www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomiobaro/jojo-moyes-the-giver-of-stars-kim-richardson-bookwoman-of. Retrieved October 11, 2020.

The Girl with the Louding Voice: one girl's fight for herself

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré is the story of 14-year-old Adunni, a young girl who lives with her widowed father and her two brothers in a rural Nigerian village. All she longs for is an education, so she can find her “louding voice” and speak up for herself. Unfortunately, her father has other ideas and sells her to be married. When tragedy strikes in her new home, she takes the opportunity to run and she makes it to Lagos where she finds a job as a housemaid for a wealthy woman. Soon the job isn’t what to be what she thought. But she never loses sight of her goal to get an education, escaping poverty. She’s added a new goal: to help other girls like her better themselves. Through spirited determination and with the help of an unlikely friend and ally, Adunni helps her find hope, joy and the determination to realize her dreams.

From the opening chapter, I was pulled in by Adunni’s fiery spirit. She never settles and she never takes no for an answer. For every obstacle in her way, she stood a little taller and gathered the strength to push them aside. The Girl with the Louding Voice is a powerful, eye opening story of a young Nigerian girl fighting to find more to her life than what the male dominated society tells her. Ms. Daré began several chapters with facts about Nigeria, it’s people and it’s government. They were interesting to read and gave more context to the events that Adunni is experiencing. It is a story into a world that many people do not exists and needs to be brought to light as young girls like Adunni are silenced by a lack of education and choices every day. I highly recommend The Girl with the Louding Voice. Adunni’s story will make you laugh, cry and break your heart but you will cheer her on as she pushes forward.

 

The Girl with the Louding Voice is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook and audiobook. 

Intersectionality: its origins, its practice and its criticisms

Feminism hasn’t been one long movement. It currently in its fourth wave as the systems of power continued to be challenged. The first wave occurred during the late 19^th century and into early 20^th century and focused on the stations of middle- and upper-class women who fought for a political voice and suffrage. The second wave occurred in the 1960s and started to focus on social and cultural inequalities. The third wave occurred during the 1980s and it is during this wave that created the theory of intersectionality. The term of intersectionality is one I first heard this year as it has gained popularity. It is a term I hadn’t really wanted to know more about until recently when I started hearing it more and more. I knew I had to research it. To discover its origins as well as the criticisms that have been stated about the theory itself and its practice.

Intersectionality is a theoretical framework for understanding how aspects of a person’s social and political identities. It is a qualitative analytic framework identifying how interlocking systems of power affect those who are marginalized to promote social and political equity. It attempts to broaden the lens of feminism to include women of color, immigrant women and other groups. The term was created by Professor Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, a black feminist, in 1989, when studying three legal cases that dealt with issues of racial and sex discrimination, and argued that treating black women as purely women or purely black ignored the challenges that faced black women as a group (Coaston, 2019). Intersectionality was not widely accepted until the 2015 and is gaining popularity. Intersectionality is intended to illuminate how often racial inequality has been overlooked by feminist theory and movements. Linda Carty and Chandra Talpade Mohanty of the Feminist Freedom Warriors Project at Syracuse University summed up intersectionality. “All of us live complex lives that require a great deal of juggling for survival. What that means is that we are actually living at the intersections of overlapping systems of privilege and oppression” (Coleman, 2019).

Professor Crenshaw took a simple observation that black women were subjected to racism by a predominantly white feminist movement and sexism by the male dominated anti-racism movement and offered an explained why it is a dynamic that keeps repeated (Robertson, 2017). Unfortunately, her original theory has receded to the background as others have taken her idea and ran with it, adding and expanding. It reminds me of scientists who took Charles Darwin’s original theory of evolution and expanded on it so much that the original theory has been lost. The idea of intersectionality makes sense as the observation was made by Sojourner Truth in her 1851 speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” in which she identifies the difference between the oppression of white and black women. White women were often treated as emotional and delicate, needed help simply to get into a carriage while black women were subjected to racist abuse and not treated as delicately (National Park Service). Intersectionality attempts to explain the multiple dimensions to the human experience (Shelton, 2019). Intersectionality in simple terms is double or multiple discrimination as the group identities one can claim intersects and explains their experience.

 

Intersectionality is not without its critics. The main criticism discusses theological definitions. Kathy Davis (2008) argues that intersectionality is ambiguous and open-ended, and that its "lack of clear-cut definition or even specific parameters.” In a podcast, Dr. Mark Horowitz, a professor of sociology at Seton Hall University, stated that at its core, intersectionality is a way to explain the world and how people experience it; however, the definitions are so fluid that it is hard to pinpoint definitions across the different studies (Shelton, 2019). Rekia Jibrim and Sara Salem (2017) state that intersectionality “does not have a clear methodological preference to study the intersections of social categories or identities” (2017). One of the biggest critics has been conservative commentor Ben Shapiro. According to Shapiro, intersectionality creates a “us” versus “them” paradigm where racial and sexual identity count for everything (2018). In the Sensibly Speaking podcast, Dr. Horowitz echoes this sentiment as he states that the attempt to use biology as a part to explain the human experience, an intersectional sociologist will argue that “you are only trying to bring women down” and “you must have a patriarchal power agenda” (Shelton, 2019).

In conclusion, intersectionality makes sense that we are more than just one group. It makes us that we cannot and should not separate discrimination and as our experiences intersects. However, it is an idea that seems to work in theory but with no clear, well-defined definitions, intersectionality is a confusing idea. It is an empirical view which makes sense and has a usefulness to explain the world and how people experience it. While many of the criticisms focus on its lack of suitable definitions, there are criticisms focus on the activist side. It is the automatic dismissal which dismisses someone’s opinion or view simply because of their group identity or majority status. As Ben Shapiro snarky commented at the end of his PagerU video, “But what do I know? I’m just a straight white male” (2018). Unfortunately, for far too long, voices were kept out of the conversation and intersectionality, in practice, simply follows suit.

 

 

References

Coaston, Jane (May 28, 2019). The intersectionality wars. Vox. www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

 

Coleman, Arica L. (March 29, 2019). What's Intersectionality? Let These Scholars Explain the Theory and Its History. Time. www.time.com/5560575/intersectionality-theory/. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

 

Davis, Kathy (2008). Intersectionality as buzzword. Feminist Theory. www.kathydavis.info/articles/Intersectionality_as_buzzword.pdf. Retrieved October 9, 2020.

 

Jibrim, Rekia & Salem, Sara (May 27, 2017). Revisiting Intersectionality: Reflections on

Theory and Praxis. Trans-Scripts: An Interdisciplinary Online Journal in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Retrieved October 7, 2020.  

 

National Park Service (no date). Sojourner Truth: Ain't I A Woman? Women’s Rights National Historical Park. www.nps.gov/articles/sojourner-truth.htm. Retrieved October 10, 2020.

 

Robertson, Eleanor (September 30, 2017). Intersectional-what? Feminism's problem with jargon is that any idiot can pick it up and have a go. The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/30/intersectional-feminism-jargon. Retrieved October 9, 2020.

 

Shapiro, Ben (June 17, 2018). What is Intersectionality? PragerU. www.prageru.com/video/what-is-intersectionality/. Retrieved October 13, 2020.

 

Shelton, Chris (October 18, 2019). Intersectionality - Pros, Cons and Pitfalls ft. Dr. Mark Horowitz. Sensibly Speaking Podcast. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lshLPJJKbyU&feature=youtu.be. Retrieved October 15, 2020.

Conceal, Don't Feel: what if Elsa and Anna didn't know each other?

Conceal, Don’t Feel by Jen Calonita is A Twisted Tale, a retelling of Frozen (2013) story. What if Anna and Elsa didn’t know each other? When a magical accident erases Anna and Elsa’s memories of magic as well as each other, the sisters are separated to keep a terrible curse at bay. As the future Queen of Arendelle, Princess Elsa’s life is full of expectations and responsibilities, but something is missing. After her parents are lost at sea, Elsa is forced to answer these questions alone. Soon mysterious icy powers begin to reveal themselves and Elsa starts to remember fragments of her childhood and her sister, Anna. After a confrontation reveals her powers to others, she is forced to flee her kingdom. She is now determined to discover the truth, restore her kingdom, and find the missing Princess of Arendelle.

I love the A Twisted Tale series. It is a great adventure, adding twists to familiar tales. I have read three of the tales so far and Conceal, Don’t Feel is my favorite. I loved seeing the familiar characters in new situations. With nods to the film, the story takes the reader into the deeper motives of the characters. Even characters who could have had more of an influence in driving the villain than the movie suggests. I have read reviews that have stated that the book is too close to the movie to be a twisted tale; but I don’t see it. The twists are enough that offer a different element to the story and a different avenue which the events can evolve. I recommend Conceal, Don’t Feel.

 

Conceal, Don’t Feel is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine: a story of survival and finding more to life

 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman is the story of Eleanor who lives an ordinary life. She is a survivor with no missing pieces in her life and proudly proclaims herself to be a self-contained entity. And yet she struggles with appropriate social skills and says exactly what she’s thinking. Everything changes with she meets Raymond Gibbons, the bumbling IT guy from her office. By chance, she and Raymond save Sammy, an elderly man who had fallen, the three rescue each other from lives of isolation and loneliness that they had been living. Through Raymond’s big heart and gentle spirit, Eleanor begins to break the cool exterior and realize that she needs to repair her damaged heart. To live the life of friendship and love that she has discovered, she must confront everything she refuses to acknowledge about the past.

Eleanor Oliphant is a story that takes you completely by surprise. From the opening lines to the closing chapter, the story of Eleanor pulls you in with her dry wit and awkward social interactions. At first, I couldn’t stand Eleanor as she was incredibly cruel as she blurts out her thoughts. Then as she slowly opens up, revealing the truth that her cool façade tried to hide, I sympathized with her and cheered her on as she decided enough’s enough and fight for the life she didn’t think she deserved. The truth she hides is devastating and heartbreaking and once she is able to overcome the power it had over her, she realizes that she doesn’t have to be alone. I highly recommend Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

Censorship: what is it and how is it used?

Censorship has been in the news a lot and in our daily conversations. Conversations about censorship by social media as well as by individuals who police their social media pages by not allowing certain posts and particularly comments. Who has the right to censor another? Social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, have been under fire for censoring content posted on their sites. What is censorship? What are legal definitions? What are the pros and cons of censorship in this age of growing internet dependance for news and information? Censorship is an important topic to discuss, outlining the pros and cons, and consider both sides of the argument. As this is a complex and in-depth topic, I will give an overview and highlights to avoid overwhelming anyone with too many details.

Censorship is the suppression of words or images that are considered offensive or dangerous and is using carried out by the government, private individuals or groups or personal pressure groups. Censorship by the government is unconstitutional (ACLU). When private individuals or groups censor, it can be in the form of organized boycotts and is protected by the First Amendment. For example, a school board decides on a list of books to remove from their libraries and curriculum. There are two principles when considering censorship. First, content neutrality is when the government cannot limit expression just because a listener or even a majority in the community is offended by its content (ACLU). Essentially, if you are offended by a tv show or movie, then you have the right to change the channel, just as someone else has the right to watch if they choose. Second, direct or imminent harm is expression that may be restricted only if it will clearly cause direct and imminent harm to an important societal interest (ACLU). The most famous example is yelling “fire” in a crowded theater and causing a stampede and harm to others. A more modern example would be someone directly incites or threatens violence on social media sites (Etzioni, 2019). For example, Craigslist took down certain classified pages after it was determined to contribute to sexual violence.

Not all speech is protected the First Amendment and subject to censorship. First, obscenity. Obscenity has been legally defined by the Supreme Court decision in Miller v California (1973) as 1) appeal to the average person’s prurient (shameful or morbid) interest in sex, 2) depict sexual conduct in a “patently offensive way” as defined by community standards and 3) taken as a whole, a lack of serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value (ACLU). This is why some books such as John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath (1939) can be banned in certain communities and not in others. Another standard set in Federal Communication Commission v Pacifica (1978) is the indecent expression in which the government can require radio and tv stations to air “indecent material only during those hours when children are less likely to be listening or watching. (ACLU). Second, pornography is protected by the First Amendment unless it meets the definition of obscene. Child pornography is not protected under the First Amendment. Lastly, libel and slander. Libel is a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation. Slander is the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation. For example, someone publishes a statement that another person is a bigamist when he or she is not. Slander is like spreading a rumor to harm someone’s chances for a promotion.

Internet censorship is the control of information that can be viewed on the internet. In the US, internet censorship is the least censored, (China being the strictest), it is highly regulated that many people self-censor (Poether, 2019). Many people distrust social media sites when it comes to censorship or removal of information. According to a Pew Research report, 85% of Republicans and Republican leaning-independents believe it is likely that social media sites are intentionally censoring political viewpoints, while 54% believe it is very likely (Etzioni, 2019). What are the pros to internet censorship? Ms. Poether (2019) discusses a few pros and cons. First, to limit content that no one wants or should see. For example, the Momo Challenge was a hoax that spread through the internet, causing concern for parents. Second, stopping fake news. Fake news is the false information that is presented as real news. Unfortunately, the speed in which news is brought to people through tv and phones, it is hard to distinguish fake news from the real news. Third, to stop access to harmful activities such as cyberbullying, sextortion, and predation. For every pro, there is a con. First, if information is too restricted, real information can be censored along with the fake. Second, who is in charge? Who decides what gets blocked and what doesn’t? Who decides the rules? Third, censoring free speech. Internet censorship limits want you can access was well as what you can post.

In conclusion, censorship is essentially “Don’t let anyone read this book, watch that tv show or view that film, because I object to it.” It is a very touchy subject that has no real clear-cut definition or rules. What is one man’s obscene art is another’s masterpiece? What one person considers to be fake news may be another’s real news? How to we tell the difference? Fact checking and research is a start. According to Vera Eidelman of the ACLU, “Defenders of free speech don’t think the power to censor should be in the hands of the tech companies” (Etzioni, 2019). I think tech companies want to make sure their users are safe and enjoy time spent on their sites; however, their own biases can come into play when deciding which information can be posted and viewed. The question of censorship doesn’t have an easy answer, but it is a question we need to discuss.

 

 

References

American Civil Liberties Union (no date). What is Censorship? ACLU.org. www.aclu.org/other/what-censorship. Retrieved October 4, 2020.

Etzioni, Amitai (Fall 2019). Should We Privatize Censorship? Issues. www.issues.org/should-we-privatize-censorship/. Retrieved October 9, 2020.

Poether, Bridget (November 18, 2019). How Internet Censorship Affects You (+Pros & Cons). Learning Hub. www.learn.g2.com/internet-censorship. Retrieved October 9, 2020. 

The Tattooist of Auschwitz: a story of survival and love

 The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris It is the story of Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, who, in April 1942, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau with it’s iron gates which boldly state, “Arbeit Macht Grei” (Work Makes You Free). When it is discovered that he speaks several languages, Lale is put to work as a tattooist, tasked with marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for more than two and half years, he witnesses the horrific atrocities and savagery as well as incredible acts of bravery and compassion. At great personal risk, he learns to find food for the starving prisoners. One day, Lale comforts a young woman named Gita. He vows that they both will survive and live their lives together after the war. Will his food smuggling be discovered? Do Lale and Gita survive? Are they able to live their lives together?

I read Cilka’s Journey, which is a quasi-sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz, first and I was interested in the story of Lale. While it didn’t have the same emotional impact for me, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a story of survival. I’ve read arguments that the events portrayed in this book didn’t happen and couldn’t have possibly happened. Ms. Morris clearly states it is a work of fiction based on a first-hand account. Some people had been left out, names changed, etc. With the Russians closing in on the camps in 1944 (ultimately liberated on January 27, 1945), who knows what records were destroyed that could have corroborated Lake’s story. Regardless, it is a powerful story of love and survival in uncertain and horrifying times. I recommend The Tattooist of Auschwitz as well as Cilka’s Journey.

 

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.

October is National Family Sexuality Education Month

October is National Family Sexuality Education Month. Created by Dr Sol Gordon in 1975 at the Institute of Family Research and Education. The purpose is to promote family education and communication about sex and sexuality. Many parents avoid talking openly about sex with their children for various reasons including embarrassment and being unsure how and when to begin. The absence of open conversations with their parents leaves children vulnerable to misinformation and unrealistic messages portrayed in music, movies, television, and advertising. What is the important of family sex education? What are some tips to get started? What tools are available to parents?

Education begins in the home with parents. Conversation are important as children and teens are more likely to base their sexual decisions on their parents than their friends (Berger, Shafer, & Williams, 2019). It is important to start early too. With preschoolers, it is important to teach consent and empower children to say no and talk with an adult when they don’t like the physical contact or situations with other children or adults. Growing Up Knowing, an organization based in Jackson, Mississippi, hosts sex education sessions for preschoolers, elementary schoolers and middle schoolers with their parents and caregivers. By learning together about sexual health, parents and children can have further discussions about tougher topics such as preventing sexual assault, the consequences of risky behaviors and how to protect one self. Being able to discuss the awkward and embarrassing topics with your children, keeps the lines of communication open for other tough topics. “If open communication is normal, kids are more likely to speak with parents about all the other trials of adolescence, such as anxiety, depression, relationships, and the use of drugs and alcohol, as well as sexual issues” (Staff, 2019).

The number one tip for parents is to prepare yourself. Before your child can ask the questions, read the books, get the information and be ready to answer the questions for any age. Getting the information for yourself first, you can avoid using scary language in which would frighten children from asking questions in the future. Second, keep your answers age appropriate. A preschooler who asks where babies come from doesn’t need the full scientific details. Give just enough information to satisfy their curiosity for the time being. You can be more accurate as they get older. Also avoid using slang for body parts, it just makes it harder to use the correct terms later. Using the correct terms early helps build self-esteem and strengthens communication between parents and their children. Third, keep the message positive. teach children to appreciate their own bodies and to respect the personal space of others. Lastly and most importantly, reassure your child that no question is forbidden. Keep the communication open so when they hare older, your child is comfortable coming to you with the harder questions and difficult discussions.

I recommend God’s Design for Sex series by Stan Jones and Brenna Jones. It is a series of four books, each book covers the basic information needed for a certain age group. Book 1 The Story of Me (ages 3-5), Book 2. Before I was Born (ages 5-8), Book 3, What’s the Big Deal? Why God Cares about Sex (ages 8-11), and Book 4, Facing the Facts: The Truth about Sex and You (ages 11-14). The age recommendations are suggestions, parents should gage their own child’s readiness. Each book is told from a Christian perspective and gives the necessary information without overwhelming parents or children with topics that are necessary for each age group. I used these books as a conversation starter. I didn’t read word or word but used it as a guide and allowed my 8-year-old daughter to ask the questions she wanted to know and let other topics she didn’t want to know yet for a later date. Despite faith based, it doesn’t shy away from controversial topics and doesn’t speak badly about them, it just states the facts.

In conclusion, October was designated at the National Family Sexuality Education Month to promote conversations between parents and their children. Sex education starts at home. It can start with the basics and grows into more important and difficult topics as children get older. It is important to educate yourself on what information to give at a certain age, how and when to present the information. There are countless of books and other tools for parents to read for themselves as well as to use as part of their conversation. It is not an easy conversation but an important one. And it gets easier with each conversation. You’ll be ready for the difficult questions and topics.

 

References

Berger, Bethany, Shafer, Leah and Williams, Ronesha (May 6, 2019). Sex Ed for the Whole Family. Harvard Graduate School of Education. www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/19/05/sex-ed-whole-family. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

Staff (June 6, 2019). Sex education for children: Why parents should talk to their kids about sex. About Kids Health. www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article?contentid=718&language=English#:~:text=Instilling%20your%20family%20values,of%20the%20discussions%20about%20sexuality. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

 

Resources

Amaze www.amaze.org. Be an Askable Parent

Growing Up Knowing www.growingupknowing.org. 

Timeless Moments: an enjoyable story of love and hope

 Timeless Moments by Michelle Kid is a spine-tingling suspense story filled with faith and love. In 2014, 46-year-old Jack Vines had purchased his dream house, a Victorian, in Lynchburg, Virginia, that he is slowly restoring to its original beauty. Soon he realizes that he is not alone. An intriguing beauty lurks in the shadows. They discover they share the house a century apart. Jewel Wiltshire married Dr. Hundson Wiltshire in 1915, she vowed to love, honor, and obey, Little did she know that her husband’s secrets would push her faith to the limits of anything she would imagine life would be. Two years later, she is a prisoner in her own home until a mysterious stranger appears offering friendship and hope. When Jack decides to investigate the original owners of the house, he discovers a mystery that would take them both on an incredible journey.

Timeless Moments was not the book I thought it was. From the book’s description, the premise reminded me of the 2006 film The Lake House starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. From the opening chapter, I was hooked, I found myself stealing moments to read just a little bit more. I even stayed up later to finish reading. I had to find out what happens to Jewel. I had to find out the connection to Jewel and Jack and the house. It is a story of love and hope that all things are possible. As I read, I made various predictions and while I was right, it was no less thrilling to read as the twists were revealed. It was a great story with mystery and suspense. I highly recommend Timeless Moments.

 

Timeless Moments is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.

The Radium Girls: a must read!

 The Radium Girls by Kate Moore is the sad story of two groups of women, miles apart, who suffer horrible illnesses and eventual death and their fight to find answers and make those responsible accountable. In 1917, Katherine Schaub starts her new job at the Radium Luminous Material Corp in Newark, New Jersey on February 1, 1917. She joins other young women to paint the dials on watches. After its discovering in 1898, radium had been a remarkable cure all for cancer, hay fever, gout, constipation, and it was in everything. People who even putting in their water as a health tonic. By 1921, strange illnesses began to appear among the girls, but no one seemed to know what going was. Soon, in Ottawa, Illinois, a new company opened and hired girls to paint watch dials. Soon these girls started to notice a pattern in their illnesses and traced it back to their jobs, painting the dials. They begin to take their fight to the companies, the courts, and the public. Will they be heard? Will they be able to end their suffering? Will the companies be held responsible?

The Radium Girls was recommended to me by a friend and I eagerly added it to my wish list. When I started to read, I was expecting to hear about illnesses, but I was not expecting the extent of these women’s suffering. I had issues with the author’s writing style and word choose. After describing the horrible conditions these women suffered with blunt and vivid imagery, she chooses to describe one woman’s extensive vaginal bleeding as “bleeding continuously down below.” Seriously!?!?! However, I had recommending The Radium Girls for the stories of these courageous women. We owe so much to them and many others for the workplace protections we now have in place. Ignore the author’s writing style and let these women’s voices come through. Many of these women would never see the outcome; but their suffering and fight wasn’t in vain. We can’t know all their names; but we can know their stories.

The Radium Girls is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

 A film based on The Radium Girls was released on April 27, 2018 at the Tribeca Film Festival. There is no information about a wide release. at the time of this post.  

The Skylark's Secret: a mother's secret and a daughter's search for home

The Skylark’s Secret by Fiona Vaply is a story about a daughter’s journey to discover the secrets her mother held so close. Loch Ewe, 1940s, the remote highland village becomes the base for the Royal Navy’s Arctic convoys, life in the close-knit community changes forever. The gamekeeper’s daughter, Flora, falls in love with Alec, the laird’s son. Decades later, Flora has passed away, and her daughter, Lexie Gordon, is forced to return to the village and the tiny cottage where she grew up. With a daughter of her own, Lexie learns that her mother and the village had secrets, secrets that will question everything she thought she knew about her parents and her village. Lexie is determined to fill the missing pieces in the story her mother always told her. When she finally learns the truth, will she be able to finally forgive, grieve for those lost and find a place to truly call home?

The Skylark’s Secret is a beautiful story of love and sacrifice. Set in the beautiful Scottish highlands, it is a story of love, war, and community. It is a story of a mother’s love and the secrets she holds in her heart. Ms. Vaply’s descriptions are so vivid that I could image the crystal blue waters of the loch and the rolling hills of the highlands. Told from Flora’s and Lexie’s perspectives and times, a story is revealed of wartime bravery, love found and lost, and the true meaning of home. It’s a slow simmer that keeps you hooked as you want to know the secrets and when one twist is revealed and you think you have it figured out, there is another twist! This book was my first by Fiona Vaply and it certainly won’t be the last. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Valpy. It is an awesome story and I highly recommend the Skylark’s Secret!

 

The Skylark’s Secret is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.