4 Stars

Best for: People interested in what justice could look like.

In a nutshell: Author Maya Schenwar – whose sister has been in and out of prison – explores what is wrong with our current system, as well as alternatives.

Line that sticks with me: “Isolation does not ‘rehabilitate’ people. Disappearance does not deter harm. And prison does not keep us safe.”

Why I chose it: A political podcast I used to listen to interviewed the author. It struck both my husband and I so much that we accidentally bought two copies.

Review: I grew up assuming that if something bad happens, I should call the cops. Aside from the recognition that this is rooted deeply in the fact that police responding to any incident I report will see a white woman, and thus probably won’t shoot me, it is also based in the idea that justice means the ‘criminal’ is apprehended, tried, convicted, and sent away. This book asks those of us who hold that assumption to set it aside and imagine something else.

Ms. Schenwar is the editor of Truthout, and has written a lot about the prison-industrial complex. Part of her writing is informed by her personal experience of having a family member – her sister – in and out of prison and the broader criminal punishment system for many years. This fairly quick read (I took in all 200 pages in two days) is broken into two parts – the first looks at all the ways the criminal punishment system tears families and communities apart, and the second explores alternatives.

The basic premise is, I think, summed up in the line that stuck with me. Society sees individuals who harm others as needing to be taken out of society. Allegedly, this should ‘rehabilitate’ them, but it doesn’t. It doesn’t keep people who haven’t caused harm yet from harming others, and it isn’t making me any safer when I walk down the street. Instead, our current system is causing more harm by removing individuals and perpetuating even more harm. If the person who earns money fro the family goes to jail, what happens to her husband and children? If a child’s father is in prison and her mother is working multiple jobs to meet her needs, what options does the child have?

So much of our society is built on this very specific way of viewing “justice,” even though there’s not a lot out there to suggest that throwing people in prison gets justice for anyone. The language choices Ms. Schenwar makes throughout really got me thinking – she doesn’t talk about our current system as ‘criminal justice,’ it’s ‘criminal punishment.’ And instead of referring to crime, she talks about harm. The discussion around the latter point I found especially interesting.

The only reason this isn’t a five-star book for me is that, while the examples of alternatives are plentiful, Ms. Schenwar doesn’t, for me at least, offer up what this could look like on a large scale and what it would take to get there. But it’s a starting point for me, and one that will lead me to learn more about prison abolition and what I can do to support such movements.

Three Stars

Best for: Philosophy students, maybe?

In a nutshell: Philosopher William Irvine looks at the ‘aha’ moments in religion, morality, math, science and art.

Line that sticks with me: “More generally, when I cannot give reasons for the moral beliefs I hold, I take it as compelling evidence that I need to take a closer look at those beliefs.”

Why I chose it: I needed a little philosophy.

Review: I’m not totally sure what this book meant to be. The writing is good, but the overall cohesion is a bit lacking.

Irvine breaks his book into five sections, each with three chapters. In the first, he gives examples of the topic area (religion, morality, math, science, and art). In the following chapters he … also does things.

I found the section on math the most interesting, because it was fun to read about the different discoveries and also just learn more about what mathematicians do. But the section that I most enjoyed was on morality. It really gave me the fix I needed to not lose my connection to my philosophy education.

Seriously, it’s not bad, but I’m just not sure what I just read. There’s not a lot of cohesion, and he doesn’t really get at the problem I think he’s trying to solve.

4 stars

Best for: Readers who want to learn more about real-life incidents of racism and gun violence.

In a nutshell: Ms. Fulton and Mr. Martin, Trayvon’s parents, tell the story of the murder of their son, from the weeks leading up to it through the verdict.

Line that sticks with me: “And we’re gonna win because we have no other choice. We cannot allow a legal precedent to be established in a city that tells us that it is legal for a man to kill us, tell any story he wants, and walk out with the murder weapon.”

Why I chose it: I believe that Trayvon’s story, like the stories of all victims of racism and gun violence, deserves to be heard.

Review: This is a well-written, compelling account of what happened in Florida in 2012 and 2013. It is biased in support of the narrative that George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin (as opposed to killing him in self-defense) because it comes from his parents’ perspectives. But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

If you don’t live in the U.S., you might not have heard about this story. Trayvon Martin was a (just barely) 17-year-old black kid who was walking home to his dad’s girlfriend’s place after picking up some flavored tea and Skittles at the nearby 7-11. George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain, started stalking him because he was “suspicious” (i.e., black). Zimmerman called 9-1-1 and then proceeded to continue tailing young Martin*, eventually getting out of his SUV and shooting young Martin in the chest at point blank, killing him almost instantly.

It was disgusting to read about then, and it’s heartbreaking to read about now. How young Martin’s character was put on trial but Zimmerman’s barely was. How it took over six weeks to even arrest and charge Zimmerman, even though he admitted to killing young Martin. How Trayvon’s parents had to work through their grief in the spotlight because only through the media were they able to get enough attention focused on what was a very poorly handled investigation.

The alternating chapters work well – each parent tells their perspective, but there isn’t a ton of overlap or repeating of stories. The pain that they were – are – feeling comes through, as does their faith in God (especially from Ms. Fulton), which was critical for seeing them through this.

The description of the trial angered me greatly, as it did seem that so many choices that were made were beneficial to Zimmerman – even and especially choices made by the prosecution. The Judge didn’t allow the term “racial profiling” to be used – only the term “profiling.” And Stand Your Ground, while not explicitly used as a defense, appeared repeatedly.

And this, especially pissed me off to no end. As Ms. Fulton makes clear a few times, even if you believe the narrative that Zimmerman felt threatened by young Martin when he got out of the car, the one who instigated the entire incident was Zimmerman. If Zimmerman had listened to the dispatcher who said “We don’t need you to [follow him],” if he’d listened when he was asked to meet the police at the front entrance to the community, if he hadn’t had a gun on him, if he’d STAYED IN HIS FUCKING CAR, Trayvon Martin would still be alive.

Additionally, I think it’s pretty clear that if Zimmerman were black and young Martin were not, Zimmerman would have been arrested, booked and charged within days if not hours of the killing. He got away with murder, and it’s disgusting.

So, as you can tell, this book might raise all the feelings. Be prepared. But I think it’s a book worth reading.

*Usually I use the terms “Mr.” and “Ms.” when referring to individuals in a review. However, one of the things we see when black children are murdered is that they aren’t allowed to be children. With that in mind I didn’t want to give the impression that Trayvon was anything but a kid; hence the “young Martin” phrase.

Five Stars

Best for: You, assuming you like quality science writing, humor, and an unexpected amount of social justice talk.

In a nutshell: Journalist and doctor answers questions about our bodies.

Line that sticks with me: (mostly because it’s demonstrative of the author’s dry humor) “But in search of an actual definition, Cleveland clinic begs the question. “Sudden cardiac death is a sudden, unexpected death caused by loss of heart function.” (You guys, why do you have a website?)” p289

Why I chose it: Stopped by the bookstore looking for travel books for an upcoming trip. Saw this (autographed copy to boot, which means sadly I missed his visit to Seattle), flipped through the table of contents, and knew I had to own it immediately.

Review: Ack! So good! This 350-page book is broken down into six sections – Appearing, Perceiving, Eating, Drinking, Relating, and Enduring. And while there are a dozen or so questions in each section, the responses aren’t exactly what you’d expect – they are even better. For example, a question as simple as “What are sunburns?” is answered with a discussion of what sunburns are that eventually leads to a discussion of health disparities and the Watts riots. A question about whether we need to drink 8 glasses of water is the start of a broader discussion about sweat, and juice, and vitaminwater.

It gets better. Dr. Hamblin discusses disparities in care for trans individuals, and the inherent patriarchal bias in how we look at (or don’t – the nipple discussion is fascinating) our different body parts. He tackles ‘gluten sensitivity’ and lactose tolerance (seriously, he points out that lactose intolerance is a weird and sort of racist way to frame it, considering the majority of the world’s population is not lactose tolerant), and spends a whole chunk of the book on aging and dying.

This isn’t a straightforward ‘ask question – get answer’ book; it’s more an opportunity for Dr. Hamblin to quickly answer basic questions and then use them as jumping off points for deeper and more interesting discussions. And it’s so funny. Not constant, joke-joke-joke funny, but witty and dry. I guffawed and laughed out loud multiple times. Nothing is straightforward – I don’t think he ever actually says whether we need to drink 8 glasses of water a day (or more, or less) – but that’s not exactly the point. The point is a discussion about hydration, and dehydration, and over-hydration. It got me thinking about many of the topics in ways I hadn’t before.

Go. Read this.

Four Stars

Best for: Carrie Fisher fans, Star Wars fans, memoir fans.

In a nutshell: Carrie Fisher tells stories of her time before and during the filming of the first Star Wars film, and looks at what it has all meant to her.

Line that sticks with me: “I act like someone in a bomb shelter trying to raise everyone’s spirits.” (p153)

Why I chose it: I was in a bookstore the day after Ms. Fisher died, and this was the last copy of any of her books left. I knew I wanted to start reading her writing, but then decided to start at the beginning and save this for last.

Review: Mission sort of accomplished. After reading two of Ms. Fisher’s four novels, I started the third and decided that her fiction just isn’t my favorite. But I enjoyed her two previous works of non-fiction, so still went forward with this one. And I’m so glad I did.

I am not a big Star Wars fan. The first time I saw it was with a guy named Brandon something. I was a freshman in high school, and he was a senior. He played an instrument in the school marching band – I want to say saxophone – and I was on the drill team, which meant I wore a cheerleader outfit but twirled two small flags instead of two large pom poms. He showed me the first film, in what I later learned was an attempted … seduction? No, that’s too dramatic. Dude wasn’t interested in getting into my pants – I think he was just looking for like a kiss or something. Didn’t work though. (Sorry Brandon! Hope you’re doing well!)

So even though I’m not a big fan, I live in the world, and thus I’m familiar with the movies. I’ve grown to enjoy them, and have now seen all of the films save Episode II (which is actually the fifth one released, right?). I appreciate that Princess Leia has grown to become General Leia. And while I know that Ms. Fisher is not Princess Leia, I also know that much of her life has been consumed by the blurring of those identities.

To me, however, Ms. Fisher is first and foremost Marie from When Harry Met Sally, so reading this book was a great way to learn more about her time as Leia, and what that meant. The middle section is literally pages from her diaries from the time shooting Episode IV, and some of it is delightful, some of it is sad, and some of it is filled with truly bad poetry. It’s fantastic to see someone lay all of that out there. Especially considering just a week ago my own mother called to tell me she’d found some horrible poetry of mine about a crush I had on a boy named Ryan. Oh god, I didn’t even let her finish reading it to me. She held the phone to the shredder as she put that mortifying bit of my history in; I can’t imagine sharing it with millions of people in a book.

But I’m so glad Ms. Fisher did. I enjoyed this book as much as her other non-fiction works, and I think it was better edited than the rest. The story flowed, the chapters felt connected, there was something of a storyline as opposed to essays that didn’t seem to have a connection other than the storyteller. And while I am so sad that Ms. Fisher died when she did, this seems to be a perfect final bit for her to leave us with.