The Breaking Point is my third book by Mary Roberts Rinehart. I finished The Circular Staircase and immediately clicked on the next free book by her, listed on my Kindle. Each book I've read so far is so distinctly different from the one before. The first I read was a hysterical comedy about a young soon-to-be debutante (Please read it! You will laugh til you cry!). Then I read The Circular Staircase earlier this week and now this one. Where the Circular Staircase is a quick, exciting, classic whodunit, The Breaking Point is a slow, psychological half mystery-half love story. I have to admit I thought the book was a little too slow at points, I think because I had just finished a quick-moving book by the same author so my expectations were set up. But aside from having to get used to the very different pacing, it is an intriguing mystery; an unraveling of what motivates people to do evil and good. I also have to admit that I figured out the crux of the mystery a few pages before it was revealed. I was very proud of myself as I usually never have a clue!
The story centers around two doctors who have a successful practice in a small town. They are uncle and nephew. Also living with them is a widowed aunt. They all get along wonderfully, but under this happy surface lurks some mystery. Dr. Dick Livingstone, the nephew, can not remember whole chunks of his life when he was younger. He is falling in love with Elizabeth Wheeler, beautiful, good, thoughtful, quiet. And she loves him back. He wants to marry her, but first he must figure out what happened in his earlier life. He suspects it may be scandalous. And he's right. Through the slow study of the intricate plot, we examine everyone's motivations. The nice thing about this book is there are many good people who act out of a sense of honor and generosity and are willing to go the extra mile to help another out. But then there are the few bad eggs, who are selfish, lazy, duplicitous and just plain mean.
While reading this book, I wondered at the psychology it is based on. I know at the time the book was written psychology was basically Freud and that's it. The whole idea of how the mind works and the complicated way that Dr. Livingstone's memory comes back to him was really interesting to me. I think I have watched too many silly TV shows where a guy has amnesia and gets hit on the head and suddenly remembers everything. The book portrays this recovery as much more tortuous and confusing. Another nice thing about the book was that there was a contrast between the uncle's faith in God and the lonely wanderings of Dick Livingstone, where at one point, he wonders if he shouldn't have sought solace and wisdom from religion instead of wandering through the underside of life torn by crazy compulsions.
It is a book that has me really analyzing the characters reactions; so it was a bit thought-provoking; a bit deeper than most murder mysteries. I am adding Mary Roberts Rinehart to my list of authors who deliver dependably intelligent, clean, well written books.
For more book reviews go to 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013
The Circular Staircase - Book 26
The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart is a fast-paced mystery set in the 1920s in a small town somewhere in the northeast. It has a very British feel to it though. Rinehart predates Agatha Christie by a decade or so but the style of mystery is similar. It is told in the first person by an old spinster aunt who has brought up her niece and nephew who are now young adults both in love with respective lovers. They've rented an old house for the summer and they've hardly arrived when murder strikes. The miserly local bank owner is shot at the foot of the circular staircase at three in the morning. The whole town is aflutter! The action moves quickly as one terrible, spooky thing happens after another, with the plot thickening on every other page! I must admit I had a hard time keeping up and got confused about a couple of names that I couldn't quite place in the story. But overall the plot is quite engaging, the writing is clever, and I read the book in about two days, being unable to put it down for very long. It is a charming mystery that is evocative of that time period. I heartily enjoyed it.
And it was free on my Kindle!
(Oops! I haven't been keeping track of my books on my page for awhile. Whenever I neglect that I always wind up miss-numbering my list of books! So to correct things the lazy way, I'll just have two books numbered #26, instead of going back and retitling the posts.)
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
And it was free on my Kindle!
(Oops! I haven't been keeping track of my books on my page for awhile. Whenever I neglect that I always wind up miss-numbering my list of books! So to correct things the lazy way, I'll just have two books numbered #26, instead of going back and retitling the posts.)
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Education plans
We've just completed our 16th year of homeschooling. I've now graduated three kids from high school (well, technically Josh hasn't graduated quite yet. He's got a ceremony with the homeschool group on 6/17. And he does have to finish up his Advanced Math which will take a few more weeks.) Anyway, this year has been rough (isn't every homeschool year rough for some reason or another?). Seano's diagnosis this past summer really put everything into kind of a tailspin. Coping with so many appointments and trying to get medication adjusted, etc made things kind of topsy turvy both in terms of time management but also especially emotionally. This ended with Sean attending a school at the beginning of April. He's come to really like it but that particular school isn't a good fit. I want to homeschool him again, but he really, truly wants to go to school. I've been looking around at our options with a lot of trepidation and frustration. But this week I made some phone calls and now I'm feeling hopeful. Next Monday we have an appointment with the admissions director of the special ed program at my old high school! If that doesn't pan out I am becoming more and more open to the idea of attending the public high school down the road.
This year I've really been torn in three different directions. Home schooling Josh for high school was one of the most frustrating things I've ever done! I am so glad it has come to an end and he can take charge of his life now. So that was one very distracting and discouraging thing. Then the whole hullabaloo with Seano. I think it will take years to really get a handle on all the repercussions of that. And then I was trying to homeschool Becky while having to step in and teach the K-3 program at Aquinas Learning. I was just too torn! No wonder I am tired!
So next year (starting from the top):
Hannah will be living at home for the year or at least most of the year, while working and going to grad school.
Will is hoping to spend a semester in Mexico City. We'll see if that works out. Then he's back to Berklee for the spring semester. He already has his housing taken care of for that. But chances are he won't be home.
Josh will be working (if he ever gets a job!) and going to the community college part time. He wants to limit this period of time to one year. I think in the back of his head he's going to Marymount to study business, after taking this coming year off.
Sean - hopefully will be attending high school at O'Connell or the public school.
And Becky and I will be involved in Aquinas Learning. I am supposed to teach Latin I and the writing/literature program (Lost Tools of Writing). Hopefully, we'll really dig in and have a substantial and productive year. I need to get her ready for high school. She has her heart set on attending Oakcrest. She wants to go for 8th grade but I am holding off until 9th grade. Then if things happen in this scenario, I'll be done with homeschooling, though I'd still have two kids attending high school and perhaps an older adult offspring still living at home temporarily.
Wow. I do hope the meeting on Monday turns out well!
This year I've really been torn in three different directions. Home schooling Josh for high school was one of the most frustrating things I've ever done! I am so glad it has come to an end and he can take charge of his life now. So that was one very distracting and discouraging thing. Then the whole hullabaloo with Seano. I think it will take years to really get a handle on all the repercussions of that. And then I was trying to homeschool Becky while having to step in and teach the K-3 program at Aquinas Learning. I was just too torn! No wonder I am tired!
So next year (starting from the top):
Hannah will be living at home for the year or at least most of the year, while working and going to grad school.
Will is hoping to spend a semester in Mexico City. We'll see if that works out. Then he's back to Berklee for the spring semester. He already has his housing taken care of for that. But chances are he won't be home.
Josh will be working (if he ever gets a job!) and going to the community college part time. He wants to limit this period of time to one year. I think in the back of his head he's going to Marymount to study business, after taking this coming year off.
Sean - hopefully will be attending high school at O'Connell or the public school.
And Becky and I will be involved in Aquinas Learning. I am supposed to teach Latin I and the writing/literature program (Lost Tools of Writing). Hopefully, we'll really dig in and have a substantial and productive year. I need to get her ready for high school. She has her heart set on attending Oakcrest. She wants to go for 8th grade but I am holding off until 9th grade. Then if things happen in this scenario, I'll be done with homeschooling, though I'd still have two kids attending high school and perhaps an older adult offspring still living at home temporarily.
Wow. I do hope the meeting on Monday turns out well!
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Forming Intentional Disciples - Session 2
This is the second installment in an ongoing book discussion hosted by Catholicmom.org. The book is Sherry Weddell's Forming Intentional Disciples. These are the discussion questions for Chapter 1, God Has No Grandchildren.
Have you always been Catholic?
I was born into a large loving Catholic family. I am number 10 in a total of 13 children. Nine of us are still alive. Two sons died as infants, one sister died at the age of 6 and my only surviving brother drowned at the age of 19. My father had studied for the priesthood at St. Meinrad's in Indiana but left to join the Navy during World War II. He was a Navy pilot fighting in the Pacific. He met my mother on leave and it was love at first sight! They got engaged two days later. My dad finished up his college degree at Georgetown University and then went on to get a law degree from that same school. I went to Catholic schools all my life, until law school. I lost my faith in God most sorrowfully after my brother drowned. I was 12 years old. It was a terrible catastrophe which spurred my father into heavy drinking that became alcoholism. My mother turned out to be the strong one. Her faith grew profoundly as she struggled with the many problems facing her, the deaths of her children, the birth of my sister, Eileen, who has Down's Syndrome, her own health struggles with diabetes and blindness, her alcoholic husband. And this doesn't even get into the struggle to raise lots of children in the 1960's and 70's with all the new problems that brought into the home. You name it, we suffered from it!
How did the instruction and mentoring you received help you – or prevent you – from having a personal relationship with God?
Even though my mom was a truly devout woman, her faith was a very private thing. We witnessed her trying to live out her faith as best she could, but her naturally reserved personality made it very hard to talk about things. For instance it was years before anyone had the courage to mention my brother's name after he died. We never, ever confronted my father's alcoholism, instead his health forced him to go dry. We witnessed his DT's has he lay very ill in his hospital bed. So during the years when I was really struggling with belief in God I did not have my family to turn to. My loss of faith was a sudden and violent thing. I couldn't conceive of how God could let my brother drown when He must have known what it would do to my parents. My good, loving, faithful parents. Either God was cruel or he didn't really exist. I suspected the latter. While living at home I still had to go to Mass and attend Catholic school but I did it with no belief in my heart. And as my father's drinking increased, our family devotions declined. When I was little he frequently read from the Bible to us all after dinner. That stopped. When I was little I remember saying family rosaries and praying together with my mother when she put us to bed. That stopped too. The squishy silly catechesis I received through school only made me scornful. My reversion came very, very slowly. For a long time I hovered in a lost agnostic state. After college though, it began to occur to me that I believed more than I disbelieved. I think this was due to my close relationship with my mother and my love for my father, no matter how problematic his drinking had become. When he was sober he was a lovely man! When he was drunk he was pathetic. I never could work up anger at him the way some of my sisters did. And the angry ones were the ones that got really lost in the world of drugs themselves. I didn't, and I do think it was because I understood somehow intuitively that my father did what he did out of an unhealable wound.
I think the thing that helped me the most in my reversion was the model of my mother's faith. She often went to daily mass (when her health allowed). I remember walking past my parents' bedroom door at night and seeing her on her knees praying. She read lots of theology. In fact her pattern of reading was to read something about art history (frequently sacred art) or theologically related in the afternoons and then good literature at night. She was a literature snob and read all of Austen, Dickens, Elliot, etc. Trollope was her favorite though. When she went blind she listened to recorded books. We were listening to audio books before it became cool! We had to order things from Books for the Blind. My mother had a special record player to play the books on that she rented from Books for the Blind.
But even my dad was a help in understanding the faith. He really knew the faith. He encouraged debate. I remember one time talking timidly to him about my doubts and him saying to me that doubt was the flip side of the coin from faith. One can't really have faith until one has thought things through and that thinking through necessarily required a certain amount of doubt. I think this little conversation in a sea of traumatic interactions acted like a lifeboat. It allowed me to not be emotionally reactive but gave me freedom to study and examine in a deliberate way just what I did and did not believe. I read a lot about different religions.
Since I don't really know exactly what is meant by 'personal' relationship with Jesus, I don't know how all this helped me, except that I am sure it was all part of His plan. All things work together for good for those who love the Lord! I think one person's idea of 'personal relationship' is very different from another's. Like I mentioned in the last post on this, I have a hard time praying. I am not comfortable with it. But I do pray anyway though I wish I were more consistent with it. I do believe in God's love for me, but it is felt intellectually, if that makes sense, rather than emotionally. In other words I hear the Word of God, I read that God is love and died for me to save me. I believe it and am grateful, but I always have to reason to that gratitude rather than be overcome with emotion upon realizing it. I do feel a strong pull of emotion though, at times, especially during Lent and Easter. Those are rich times of the liturgical year for me and my relationship with God.
If you were raised in a Catholic home, are your family members all still Catholic?
What events among your friends and family seem to explain why some are Catholic, and others are not?
Many of my family members are not Catholic anymore. Four of my sisters have left the faith. Three are active members of other Christian denominations. One doesn't attend at all. Two are still Catholic in name but bitter, angry ones who do not follow Church teachings. Only one other sister had the same journey as me; leaving the church for a long time, and through study and providential encounters, came back joyfully. She is a treasure to me!
I honestly don't want to recount my sisters' faith journeys. It is too painful a subject and I don't think they'd want me talking about it on the internet. So I will decline, except to say for each one it was unique to them and came from a weird synergy of the cultural climate plus certain tragedies they endured.
In your parish:
How’s your “retention rate”? What percentage of 8th graders in your parish are still practicing the faith at age 18? At age 24? Do young adults in your parish stay in touch with their childhood faith community, or do they drift away to an unknown fate?
I do not know the percentage rate of retention. I don't even know how one would track that. I am in the Arlington Diocese. There are many parishes. People move a lot, kids grow up and go off to college where they may participate there. I just don't think tracking retention in terms of parish is realistic. I don't know how else you would do it though! In our parish we have a wonderful program run by the Youth Apostles for confirmed teens. We also have a pretty active youth ministry. But active involvement in parish life in these two programs is much smaller than the number of those who receive the sacrament of Confirmation. For instance we had 112 Confirmations a couple of weeks ago, including my own 14 year old son. I would predict that only about 1/4 of those will participate in the Catholic Life Communities run by the Youth Apostles. The Youth Ministry program goes up and down in attendance. Sometimes barely anyone shows up for events. But at the last event of the year about 45 kids showed up! That was amazing!
Have you always been Catholic?
I was born into a large loving Catholic family. I am number 10 in a total of 13 children. Nine of us are still alive. Two sons died as infants, one sister died at the age of 6 and my only surviving brother drowned at the age of 19. My father had studied for the priesthood at St. Meinrad's in Indiana but left to join the Navy during World War II. He was a Navy pilot fighting in the Pacific. He met my mother on leave and it was love at first sight! They got engaged two days later. My dad finished up his college degree at Georgetown University and then went on to get a law degree from that same school. I went to Catholic schools all my life, until law school. I lost my faith in God most sorrowfully after my brother drowned. I was 12 years old. It was a terrible catastrophe which spurred my father into heavy drinking that became alcoholism. My mother turned out to be the strong one. Her faith grew profoundly as she struggled with the many problems facing her, the deaths of her children, the birth of my sister, Eileen, who has Down's Syndrome, her own health struggles with diabetes and blindness, her alcoholic husband. And this doesn't even get into the struggle to raise lots of children in the 1960's and 70's with all the new problems that brought into the home. You name it, we suffered from it!
How did the instruction and mentoring you received help you – or prevent you – from having a personal relationship with God?
Even though my mom was a truly devout woman, her faith was a very private thing. We witnessed her trying to live out her faith as best she could, but her naturally reserved personality made it very hard to talk about things. For instance it was years before anyone had the courage to mention my brother's name after he died. We never, ever confronted my father's alcoholism, instead his health forced him to go dry. We witnessed his DT's has he lay very ill in his hospital bed. So during the years when I was really struggling with belief in God I did not have my family to turn to. My loss of faith was a sudden and violent thing. I couldn't conceive of how God could let my brother drown when He must have known what it would do to my parents. My good, loving, faithful parents. Either God was cruel or he didn't really exist. I suspected the latter. While living at home I still had to go to Mass and attend Catholic school but I did it with no belief in my heart. And as my father's drinking increased, our family devotions declined. When I was little he frequently read from the Bible to us all after dinner. That stopped. When I was little I remember saying family rosaries and praying together with my mother when she put us to bed. That stopped too. The squishy silly catechesis I received through school only made me scornful. My reversion came very, very slowly. For a long time I hovered in a lost agnostic state. After college though, it began to occur to me that I believed more than I disbelieved. I think this was due to my close relationship with my mother and my love for my father, no matter how problematic his drinking had become. When he was sober he was a lovely man! When he was drunk he was pathetic. I never could work up anger at him the way some of my sisters did. And the angry ones were the ones that got really lost in the world of drugs themselves. I didn't, and I do think it was because I understood somehow intuitively that my father did what he did out of an unhealable wound.
I think the thing that helped me the most in my reversion was the model of my mother's faith. She often went to daily mass (when her health allowed). I remember walking past my parents' bedroom door at night and seeing her on her knees praying. She read lots of theology. In fact her pattern of reading was to read something about art history (frequently sacred art) or theologically related in the afternoons and then good literature at night. She was a literature snob and read all of Austen, Dickens, Elliot, etc. Trollope was her favorite though. When she went blind she listened to recorded books. We were listening to audio books before it became cool! We had to order things from Books for the Blind. My mother had a special record player to play the books on that she rented from Books for the Blind.
But even my dad was a help in understanding the faith. He really knew the faith. He encouraged debate. I remember one time talking timidly to him about my doubts and him saying to me that doubt was the flip side of the coin from faith. One can't really have faith until one has thought things through and that thinking through necessarily required a certain amount of doubt. I think this little conversation in a sea of traumatic interactions acted like a lifeboat. It allowed me to not be emotionally reactive but gave me freedom to study and examine in a deliberate way just what I did and did not believe. I read a lot about different religions.
Since I don't really know exactly what is meant by 'personal' relationship with Jesus, I don't know how all this helped me, except that I am sure it was all part of His plan. All things work together for good for those who love the Lord! I think one person's idea of 'personal relationship' is very different from another's. Like I mentioned in the last post on this, I have a hard time praying. I am not comfortable with it. But I do pray anyway though I wish I were more consistent with it. I do believe in God's love for me, but it is felt intellectually, if that makes sense, rather than emotionally. In other words I hear the Word of God, I read that God is love and died for me to save me. I believe it and am grateful, but I always have to reason to that gratitude rather than be overcome with emotion upon realizing it. I do feel a strong pull of emotion though, at times, especially during Lent and Easter. Those are rich times of the liturgical year for me and my relationship with God.
If you were raised in a Catholic home, are your family members all still Catholic?
What events among your friends and family seem to explain why some are Catholic, and others are not?
Many of my family members are not Catholic anymore. Four of my sisters have left the faith. Three are active members of other Christian denominations. One doesn't attend at all. Two are still Catholic in name but bitter, angry ones who do not follow Church teachings. Only one other sister had the same journey as me; leaving the church for a long time, and through study and providential encounters, came back joyfully. She is a treasure to me!
I honestly don't want to recount my sisters' faith journeys. It is too painful a subject and I don't think they'd want me talking about it on the internet. So I will decline, except to say for each one it was unique to them and came from a weird synergy of the cultural climate plus certain tragedies they endured.
In your parish:
How’s your “retention rate”? What percentage of 8th graders in your parish are still practicing the faith at age 18? At age 24? Do young adults in your parish stay in touch with their childhood faith community, or do they drift away to an unknown fate?
I do not know the percentage rate of retention. I don't even know how one would track that. I am in the Arlington Diocese. There are many parishes. People move a lot, kids grow up and go off to college where they may participate there. I just don't think tracking retention in terms of parish is realistic. I don't know how else you would do it though! In our parish we have a wonderful program run by the Youth Apostles for confirmed teens. We also have a pretty active youth ministry. But active involvement in parish life in these two programs is much smaller than the number of those who receive the sacrament of Confirmation. For instance we had 112 Confirmations a couple of weeks ago, including my own 14 year old son. I would predict that only about 1/4 of those will participate in the Catholic Life Communities run by the Youth Apostles. The Youth Ministry program goes up and down in attendance. Sometimes barely anyone shows up for events. But at the last event of the year about 45 kids showed up! That was amazing!
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Good News - 6/4/13
This is such a great idea. I have been trying buy fair trade but was having trouble finding bona fide fair trade products in my regular grocery shopping trips. One of the many resources mentioned in the book, Refuse to Do Nothing is this company. Trade As One has a great idea where you subscribe to their store and they will deliver a box of such staples as chocolate, coffee, rice, olive oil, etc 4x a year for only $133! I added on the extra coffee since I've got some heavy duty coffee drinkers living here now. I am excitedly waiting for my order to arrive. Check out the cute video that explains it all at their website.
I just love the entrepreneurial spirit of people who are trying to make the world a better place!
I just love the entrepreneurial spirit of people who are trying to make the world a better place!
Monday, June 3, 2013
Weekly Plans - 6/3/13
We had a nice quiet weekend. The older kids are in New Orleans still - won't get back until this coming Wed. evening. So what's in store this week:
1. I think I have a meeting about Aquinas Learning Schola Alta this evening (Mon).
2. Today, it is rainy outside. I plan to spend it decluttering and tidying the house with Becky - focus will be on mudroom, front hall and bedrooms. I also need to work on math with Becky as well. Dinner is tacos!
3. Tuesday - have to help with silk screening t shirts for Sean's school 8th grade celebration. Also, need to run to Trader Joe's for pet food and other items. Probably try to get some more house work in. Dinner - some kind of chicken.
4. Wednesday - Switch cars with Rick so he can pick the kids up at the airport after work. Becky and I will work on math. Need to get to the dry cleaners. Also need to post in the discussion on Forming Intentional Disciples.
5. Kids are back! Who knows what will go on? Josh will need to meet with math tutor I think. Gotta iron that out. Also by then grass will need mowing. Becky will need more math work. Becky also goes to gymnastics.
6. Friday - nothing so far. Wow, it is nice to be so free from appointments, since we had so many last week.
7. Saturday - Becky wants to try out for the All Stars at gymnastics. Also there is an Honor Flight happening at the same time.....
Looks like a good week to really focus on the house. I am inspire to make it tidier and cozier. The garage looks great and we had some folks come in and clean up the wild garden over the weekend. I am rejoicing in how nice the outside looks. I need to make the inside look nice too! It is worth it to have that sense of order and calmness. My new motto which came to me during Holy Hour is Keep calm, do the best I can and trust in the Lord. So that is what I am chanting to myself. I need to find God in the pots and pans! Because that is where he'll be residing, at least for this week!
1. I think I have a meeting about Aquinas Learning Schola Alta this evening (Mon).
2. Today, it is rainy outside. I plan to spend it decluttering and tidying the house with Becky - focus will be on mudroom, front hall and bedrooms. I also need to work on math with Becky as well. Dinner is tacos!
3. Tuesday - have to help with silk screening t shirts for Sean's school 8th grade celebration. Also, need to run to Trader Joe's for pet food and other items. Probably try to get some more house work in. Dinner - some kind of chicken.
4. Wednesday - Switch cars with Rick so he can pick the kids up at the airport after work. Becky and I will work on math. Need to get to the dry cleaners. Also need to post in the discussion on Forming Intentional Disciples.
5. Kids are back! Who knows what will go on? Josh will need to meet with math tutor I think. Gotta iron that out. Also by then grass will need mowing. Becky will need more math work. Becky also goes to gymnastics.
6. Friday - nothing so far. Wow, it is nice to be so free from appointments, since we had so many last week.
7. Saturday - Becky wants to try out for the All Stars at gymnastics. Also there is an Honor Flight happening at the same time.....
Looks like a good week to really focus on the house. I am inspire to make it tidier and cozier. The garage looks great and we had some folks come in and clean up the wild garden over the weekend. I am rejoicing in how nice the outside looks. I need to make the inside look nice too! It is worth it to have that sense of order and calmness. My new motto which came to me during Holy Hour is Keep calm, do the best I can and trust in the Lord. So that is what I am chanting to myself. I need to find God in the pots and pans! Because that is where he'll be residing, at least for this week!
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Refuse to Do Nothing - Book 26
Refuse to Do Nothing is about the modern day problem of slavery. Two upper middle class soccer moms, via separate experiences, became radicalized to devote themselves to abolishing slavery. The book is an invitation to become an abolitionist. And like those abolitionists of old, many of whom were women who had even less political power at that time than modern women, we should persevere in the face of enormous odds, because it is the right thing to do and because we can achieve victory over the horrifying and colossally complicated problem.
Shayne Moore and Kimberly McOwen Yim are Christian women who take their faith seriously. This book recounts how they became more and more involved in the abolitionist movement. The first review on Amazon calls it a field manual for those who want to change their community, and that's exactly right. The full title of the book is: Refuse to Do Nothing; Finding Your Power to Abolish Modern-Day Slavery. The authors at first list step by step ways to get the word out and then ways to actually help. Initially Moore and Yim were about giving showings of movies on the topic of slavery or human trafficking, as it is also called. By showing these movies to the community, they gathered several women who regularly met to discuss what they were learning and what they could possibly do about it. The movie that initially radicalized them was Call + Response. Next they began to attend conferences on the subject, trying to learn as much as they could about this very complicated issue. There are those who fight trafficking out in the field, physically trying to rescue sex slaves and forced child labor. One such organization they are involved with is the International Justice Mission. Then the authors discuss grass roots initiatives that involve working with and/or exposing big multi-national corporations that profit from slave labor in their supply chains.
This subject matter is just nightmarish, from the repeated nightly rapes of child sex slaves to the cruel and inhumane conditions of chocolate harvesters, the whole thing can be quite overwhelming and leave one feeling numb from despair. Refuse to do Nothing's goal is to work around that response by giving very clear ideas and resources. The simplest thing is to be aware of the signs of human trafficking in your community and then to keep the hotline number up on your fridge and programmed into your phone (888-373-7888) so that if you do see a situation that makes you suspicious, you can call them. Did you know that those teens who come around selling magazines are often slaves? Did you know that nail salons can be covers for the slave trade? I don't know about your area but around here there is practically a nail salon on every corner. I always wonder, do that many people go to get their nails done all the time that these places can support themselves? Maybe if that person giving you your manicure can't speak English and is under the control of some person who threatens her with death, then yes those places can make a profit! When I first started this book a few days ago I googled human trafficking and my home town. Turns out on May 3rd (just last month!) there was a police bust of a prostitution ring going on in a motel right here that I drive by all the time in my rather tony, trendy little town in the very wealthy suburbs of Washington D.C. Some pimp had taken a few runaway girls from Georgia and come up her to Virginia to make them earn some money for him. Sometimes the girls aren't even runaways. They still live at home but are afraid they or their family will be killed if they don't prostitute themselves after school for their pimps! It's unbelievable!
The sex trade makes up a huge portion of human trafficking but there is also terrible forced labor going on. And it is all so we first world countries can indulge in our love of electronics and food like coffee and chocolate. Here in the United States one of the biggest problems comes from the tomato fields of Florida where illegal immigrants are forced into the slavery so we can have spaghetti sauce, salsa and ketchup. One organization that is combatting this is the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. I was happy to find that both Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have signed a pledge to not buy tomatoes from companies that use slavery. However, many other fast food and grocery store chains do not participate in this pledge. This is another reason why buying locally from farmers and cutting out the middle man is really an act of justice. Trying to buy only Fair Trade chocolate and coffee is a very moral thing to do these days. The authors do discuss how complicated the issues are and how sometimes it is hard to know if Fair Trade foods are really fair trade or mixed up with slavery tainted food. However, this is due to the very complicated economic system we now have. What seems to work is to continue to put pressure on these food companies and to continue to shine the light on their efforts or lack of effort to stop human trafficking.
The authors also address such organizations as the Enough Project and the Invisible Children project which deal with 'conflict' minerals; those minerals from the Congo and other African nations that are caught up in violent, repressive civil conflict. The authors defend the Kony video that went viral last year and received a lot of criticism. They note that the people who started and run Invisible Children are basically college kids who ought to be forgiven if they make a misstep in PR. Also they note that those criticizing their actions are not actually trying to stop slavery. They give a wonderful quote from Theodore Roosevelt in their defense.
Now I do have one niggling problem with the issue of child labor. I think that from our very wealthy western point of view, we can come to see any child labor as wrong. But then I think back to our history, with children living on farms, like the Little House books for instance. Not all child labor is wrong. Child labor that is hard but just, can actually help a child grow up. We have very, very soft expectations where we think everyone should have a college degree and a white collar job, but that is not economically practical nor is it what everyone needs or wants. We have very narrow ideas in the west based on our own often flawed value systems that are very consumeristic and materialist. Really the rampant consumerism is the very problem that contributes to the global issue of slavery. The sexualization of our culture and crumbling ideas of virtue when it comes to sex have contributed to the sexual human trafficking. Again, just this month, my own local diocean newspaper had an article on how our crass commercialization of sex in our culture leads to sexual exploitation. I remember recent complaints about the Obama administration shutting down children's lemonade stands because they were not 'licensed' or trying to enact/enforce labor laws on family farms last year. So we can get a little too gung ho and begin to interfere too much. But I know that for the vast majority of child workers they endure terrible unjust conditions where they are starved, beaten and worked into exhaustion. Their very lives are threatened. So my little niggling fear is pretty darn little.
Anyway, this book is a very practical, inspirational and encouraging book about a very tough topic. It is full of good advice and resources to explore so that we can do our part to combat these terrible evil that is plaguing the world today.
And a final note: I was typing this up this morning but stopped to pray with Pope Francis as he led the first ever global Eucharistic Adoration holy hour from St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Cathedrals and churches all over the planet were praying simultaneously with him. For my time zone the hour was 11:00 a.m. today. I wanted to participate so much that we are going to Mass this evening. Anyway, the Pope prayed for two intentions: 1) the Catholic Church and 2) For the end of human trafficking!
I highly recommend Refuse to Do Nothing! Make yourself and the world a better place by reading it!
For more reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Shayne Moore and Kimberly McOwen Yim are Christian women who take their faith seriously. This book recounts how they became more and more involved in the abolitionist movement. The first review on Amazon calls it a field manual for those who want to change their community, and that's exactly right. The full title of the book is: Refuse to Do Nothing; Finding Your Power to Abolish Modern-Day Slavery. The authors at first list step by step ways to get the word out and then ways to actually help. Initially Moore and Yim were about giving showings of movies on the topic of slavery or human trafficking, as it is also called. By showing these movies to the community, they gathered several women who regularly met to discuss what they were learning and what they could possibly do about it. The movie that initially radicalized them was Call + Response. Next they began to attend conferences on the subject, trying to learn as much as they could about this very complicated issue. There are those who fight trafficking out in the field, physically trying to rescue sex slaves and forced child labor. One such organization they are involved with is the International Justice Mission. Then the authors discuss grass roots initiatives that involve working with and/or exposing big multi-national corporations that profit from slave labor in their supply chains.
This subject matter is just nightmarish, from the repeated nightly rapes of child sex slaves to the cruel and inhumane conditions of chocolate harvesters, the whole thing can be quite overwhelming and leave one feeling numb from despair. Refuse to do Nothing's goal is to work around that response by giving very clear ideas and resources. The simplest thing is to be aware of the signs of human trafficking in your community and then to keep the hotline number up on your fridge and programmed into your phone (888-373-7888) so that if you do see a situation that makes you suspicious, you can call them. Did you know that those teens who come around selling magazines are often slaves? Did you know that nail salons can be covers for the slave trade? I don't know about your area but around here there is practically a nail salon on every corner. I always wonder, do that many people go to get their nails done all the time that these places can support themselves? Maybe if that person giving you your manicure can't speak English and is under the control of some person who threatens her with death, then yes those places can make a profit! When I first started this book a few days ago I googled human trafficking and my home town. Turns out on May 3rd (just last month!) there was a police bust of a prostitution ring going on in a motel right here that I drive by all the time in my rather tony, trendy little town in the very wealthy suburbs of Washington D.C. Some pimp had taken a few runaway girls from Georgia and come up her to Virginia to make them earn some money for him. Sometimes the girls aren't even runaways. They still live at home but are afraid they or their family will be killed if they don't prostitute themselves after school for their pimps! It's unbelievable!
The sex trade makes up a huge portion of human trafficking but there is also terrible forced labor going on. And it is all so we first world countries can indulge in our love of electronics and food like coffee and chocolate. Here in the United States one of the biggest problems comes from the tomato fields of Florida where illegal immigrants are forced into the slavery so we can have spaghetti sauce, salsa and ketchup. One organization that is combatting this is the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. I was happy to find that both Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have signed a pledge to not buy tomatoes from companies that use slavery. However, many other fast food and grocery store chains do not participate in this pledge. This is another reason why buying locally from farmers and cutting out the middle man is really an act of justice. Trying to buy only Fair Trade chocolate and coffee is a very moral thing to do these days. The authors do discuss how complicated the issues are and how sometimes it is hard to know if Fair Trade foods are really fair trade or mixed up with slavery tainted food. However, this is due to the very complicated economic system we now have. What seems to work is to continue to put pressure on these food companies and to continue to shine the light on their efforts or lack of effort to stop human trafficking.
The authors also address such organizations as the Enough Project and the Invisible Children project which deal with 'conflict' minerals; those minerals from the Congo and other African nations that are caught up in violent, repressive civil conflict. The authors defend the Kony video that went viral last year and received a lot of criticism. They note that the people who started and run Invisible Children are basically college kids who ought to be forgiven if they make a misstep in PR. Also they note that those criticizing their actions are not actually trying to stop slavery. They give a wonderful quote from Theodore Roosevelt in their defense.
Now I do have one niggling problem with the issue of child labor. I think that from our very wealthy western point of view, we can come to see any child labor as wrong. But then I think back to our history, with children living on farms, like the Little House books for instance. Not all child labor is wrong. Child labor that is hard but just, can actually help a child grow up. We have very, very soft expectations where we think everyone should have a college degree and a white collar job, but that is not economically practical nor is it what everyone needs or wants. We have very narrow ideas in the west based on our own often flawed value systems that are very consumeristic and materialist. Really the rampant consumerism is the very problem that contributes to the global issue of slavery. The sexualization of our culture and crumbling ideas of virtue when it comes to sex have contributed to the sexual human trafficking. Again, just this month, my own local diocean newspaper had an article on how our crass commercialization of sex in our culture leads to sexual exploitation. I remember recent complaints about the Obama administration shutting down children's lemonade stands because they were not 'licensed' or trying to enact/enforce labor laws on family farms last year. So we can get a little too gung ho and begin to interfere too much. But I know that for the vast majority of child workers they endure terrible unjust conditions where they are starved, beaten and worked into exhaustion. Their very lives are threatened. So my little niggling fear is pretty darn little.
Anyway, this book is a very practical, inspirational and encouraging book about a very tough topic. It is full of good advice and resources to explore so that we can do our part to combat these terrible evil that is plaguing the world today.
And a final note: I was typing this up this morning but stopped to pray with Pope Francis as he led the first ever global Eucharistic Adoration holy hour from St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Cathedrals and churches all over the planet were praying simultaneously with him. For my time zone the hour was 11:00 a.m. today. I wanted to participate so much that we are going to Mass this evening. Anyway, the Pope prayed for two intentions: 1) the Catholic Church and 2) For the end of human trafficking!
I highly recommend Refuse to Do Nothing! Make yourself and the world a better place by reading it!
For more reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
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