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The Power of Moments – Chip and Dan Heath

(Oct 2017) I read Chip and Dan Heath’s first book, Made to Stick, months after it was published in 2007. I am still recommending that book to people today for it’s exceptional concepts and the way in which those ideas are presented. The Heath brothers have created another extraordinary book with The Power of Moments…

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The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class

(Sept. 2017) The aspirational class members make decisions and establish norms that have far more pernicious outcomes for society than did previous leisure-class consumerism. Rather than buying silver spoons and going on long holidays, their investments in education, health, retirement, and parenting ensure the reproduction of status (and often wealth too) for their offspring in…

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Braving the Wilderness – Brené Brown

(Sept. 2017) True belonging doesn’t require that you change who you are. It requires you to be who you are. This is another amazing book by Dr. Brené Brown, who previously wrote The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, and Rising Strong.” She talks about writing this book against the backdrop of polarizing political and ideological…

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Ghost of the Innocent Man – Benjamin Rachlin

(Sept. 2017) What a remarkable book. The entire gripping story is gleaned from 25 years worth of notes, transcripts, forms, files, interviews and testimony. No one’s name has been changed because it’s all a matter of public record. If transparency is what you want, then this style of non-fiction investigative journalism will deliver that on…

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Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women

(Sept 2017) This book is extraordinary – as is the woman who wrote it. One of the great strengths of the book is how it weaves staggering facts and statistics about mass incarceration into Susan Burton’s deeply personal story. Each chapter begins with facts about different aspects of our criminal justice system, and the sprawling…

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Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy

(Aug 2017) This book weaves together one woman’s personal journey through loss and grief with compelling research about how we cultivate resiliency and can actually experience growth following great tragedy. Option B is every bit as good as I expected it would be. I read Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In, and I’ve read Adam Grant’s…

Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship

(Aug 2017) Maybe a record of someone’s private thoughts is worthless anywhere. Certainly in jail — contraband is worth more. But I wondered if it was especially worthless in the Delta, where a calm place to read was hard to come by; where there wasn’t a bookstore for a hundred miles and families couldn’t afford…

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American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land – Monica Hesse

(Aug 2017) So much of life is intangible, and places don’t feel like they’re disappearing to the people who are living there. This review is an ode to independent bookstores, journalists who write books, rainy vacation days and to Virginia. My husband Tom and I like to come back to Chincoteague Island as often as…

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