The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan

The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: July 29, 2018
Format: Audiobook
Favorite Quote(s):

"Now I know the secrets of the dark, sweet liquid in my cup. The smell washes over me again, and this time I gag on it. It's no longer the smell of a loving bedtime routine, but the smell of pain, and working for no pay, and not being able to go home."

Review:
Read this book. It will not ruin chocolate for you, but it will change how you buy it.

I knew about the origins of chocolate already, but the story of Amadou, Seydou, and Khadija have thoroughly shamed me out of my inaction. I have the privilege (so so so many privileges) of living in the next town from the Equal Exchange headquarters and that is where I will exclusively shop for the products they sell. Among so many other privileges that I have, I have the privilege of being able to vote with my money. I will keep their story in the forefront of my brain and make purchases that reflect the world that I want to live in to the best of my ability.

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: June 25, 2018
Format: Audiobook
Favorite Quote(s):

"My life was narrated for me by others. Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute. It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs."

"'You can love someone and still choose to say goodbye to them,' she says now. 'You can miss a person every day, and still be glad that they are no longer in your life.'" 

Review:
I think I might need to sit with this for a bit longer to write a worthy review. For now, I'm questioning so many things... like public education and my role in it. Are we providing students with the tools they need to for higher education or are we draining the curiosity out of them? 3/7ths of the Westovers have PhDs. I think there is something there to at least discuss. I'm also thinking about my interactions with my sister. We are very different people and have never experienced or interpreted a mutual event in our lives the same way. It's an incredibly lonely experience to be denied your own perspective, but it feels a bit like Tara has validated me on her journey to validate herself.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: March 10, 2018
Format: Audiobook
Favorite Quote(s):

"Each one of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done."
"The opposite of poverty is not wealth, the opposite of poverty is justice."

Review:
Bryan Stevenson is a human rights hero and more people should know his name.
This book alternates between telling the true story of wrongfully convicted death row inmate Walter McMillian and discussing real-life death row and life imprisonment stories from Mr. Stevenson's years as an attorney at his organization the Equal Justice Initiative. The chapters that Mr. Stevenson wraps around Mr. McMillian's story include those focusing on children being tried and sentenced as adults (despite being as young as 10 years old), women being imprisoned for life for giving birth to still-born babies, and those with intellectual disabilities who were not capable of defending themselves at trial. He writes about his treatment as a black lawyer in the south, the treatment of people who have served their time by society upon release (even when they didn't actually commit a crime), and the trauma and violation inmates are exposed to while in prison (particularly children sent to adult prisons). Please consider reading this book and making a monthly donation to EJI.