The United States has always been a diverse nation, with all the tensions and internal contradictions that come from that diversity. From the founding fathers' generation seeking understanding among those with English, Scots-Irish, Dutch, German, and French backgrounds, between the religious and the rationalists, to today's globalized world in which people with cultural backgrounds from around the world, of every color, sexual orientation, gender identity, and faith call this country, even this parish, home. With the election behind us and the holiday season upon us, we are all thinking about our place within our families, our nation, and our world.
It is often said that “a good library has something in it to offend everyone” because a good library represents all the sides of an argument and the facts related to it. As librarians, we hope that the people who use our collection use the full scope of it rather than only taking from it that which reinforces the views that they already hold. With that in mind, I want to highlight a small sample of books in our collection that present viewpoints and histories that are often lost in our discussions among ourselves.
Born Bright: A Young Girl's Journey from Nothing to Something in America
by C. Nicole Mason
America loves stories about people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, but the love of that story often blinds us to the reality of how difficult an escape from poverty really is. Mason is someone who made that journey, starting from being born to a poor, single teenage mother in the 1970s and ending with a PhD and successful writing career. Along the way she lays out the obstacles she overcame that cause many people in her position to fail as a matter of sheer luck, not a lack of effort.
A Family by Any Other Name: Exploring Queer Relationships
Politicians and people in the media often make use of the phrase “family values,” but those who do often mean the values of a family that consists of a father, a mother, and two or three children, likely one that attends church on Sundays. This collection of personal essays covers “coming out, same-sex marriage, adopting, having biological kids, polyamorous relationships, families without kids, divorce, and dealing with the death of a spouse” along with writings by straight individuals about living with gay parents or children. At the end of the day, different families have different values, but in every true family, one of those values is always love for each other.
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More
by Janet Mock
By now, Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner are household names, but for many, Cox’s and Jenner’s celebrity clouds the wider world of transgender issues. Mock’s memoir of her coming-of-age paints a clearer picture of how transgender people are often pushed to the margins of society, with the resources required to live as themselves being expensive and often outright unavailable. Fearing the violence that is faced by many in her position, Mock spent much of her adult life quietly passing before emerging as an advocate for others like herself.
We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out
by Annie E. Clark
Women are not a minority. They actually make up 51% of the population. Women who have been sexually assaulted are not even a particularly small minority. Current estimates are that it will happen to one in five women in her lifetime, along with about 5% of men, yet those who come forward are often disbelieved, marginalizing their experience. People voice doubts that the assailant would do such a thing, or they call the timing of the accusation suspicious. The real-life stories in this collection cover a wide range of races, backgrounds, and gender identities. If you ever found yourself calling an assault story “unbelievable,” you might benefit from a reminder of what really has happened before.
Beirut on the Bayou: Alfred Nicola, Louisiana, and the Making of Modern Lebanon
by Raif Shwayri
Immigration into our country from the Middle East is such a hot-button issue today that it is understandable to believe that it is a wholly new phenomenon. Even I was surprised to realize that we had a book in our collection about someone from the Middle East who came, not just to America, but to Bayou Lafourche back in 1902. Habib Shwayri, who went by Alfred Nicola while in the United States, returned home to Lebanon in 1920. This family history covers, not only Shwayri’s time here, but also the history, both centuries-old and recent, that is still shaping his homeland and the area surrounding it.
Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi
For the last book on this list, I’m stepping away from America for a bit and lingering on the Middle East. In this memoir-in-pictures, which has been turned into an award-winning movie we also have in our collection, Satrapi tells the story of her childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, her adolescence in Europe once her family sent her away out of fear for her safety, and her return as an adult, finding the homeland she loves too changed from her childhood memories for her to have a place in it. While the focus is on the effects of Radical Islam in Iran, the forces at play are ones that have repeated throughout the Middle East, planting the seeds of the current refugee crisis. It is a story of the immigrant experience and a story of how home can change into a place hostile to you.
Be good to one another out there.