This morning a small group of us gathered at Neutra House for the monthly book club discussion, this month centered around The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater, an artful piece of young adult non-fiction about an awful event in Oakland in late 2013. Slater presents the stories of the two key figures on either side of the event, which brings up painful issues related to gender, gender-based hate crimes, discrimination in the legal system, and much more. Thankfully there’s relief from the pain too, in the form of beautiful displays of empathy, forgiveness, and love in all sorts of permutations.
In our discussion I experienced both the glorious feeling that comes when you find someone who absolutely and completely gets your perspective and the mind-expanding moment when you learn that your thoughts vary from those of someone whom you deeply respect. I’m not sure there’s an outcome that can beat that combination.
I highly recommend The 57 Bus, and I bet I wouldn’t be the only one from this morning’s discussion who would love to hear your thoughts on it. And if you’re feeling as if you missed out by not being there, grab a copy of Moral Mazes by Robert Jackall and join us next month!
— Becky Horton