The Sinners All Bow (adult nonfiction)

     When I thought about true crime I used to envision those dreadful supermarket tabloids and cheap paperbacks with lurid covers that according to my Shakespeare scholar English professor mother only certain people (not us) read. Now the popular podcasts that have made the genre so much more mainstream come to mind. But I certainly never envisioned a cold case that goes back, not years or decades but centuries and inspired one of those classic novels by long deceased white men most of us had to discuss the themes of to pass high school English...

     ...until I read Kate Winkler Dawson's The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynn. 

     On a frigid December night in 1832 Rhode Island farmer John Durfee stumbled upon a gruesome sight. The body of a young woman, Sarah Maria Cornell, was found hanging by her neck. 

     Back then they didn't have the resources we have now to identify causes of death. The men, without examining Sarah (because preparation of corpses for burial was women's work then) proclaimed that she had committed suicide. Her doctor, who lived nearby, had said she was pregnant out of wedlock. They figured in light of this evidence of her sinful conduct well of course she'd want to take her life.

     The women who washed Sarah's body disagreed. They had found massive evidence of violence and realized that she was murdered. When they were looking through her possessions to try to locate nearest of kin they found a slip of paper with a cryptic message. If she was ever missing they should look for Ephraim Avery, a very charismatic Methodist minister. 

     Anyone who has ever set foot in a Methodist church in this century will find this hard to believe (as I did), but in the early decades of the nineteenth century the Methodist Church was not part of the religious establishment. With their "not properly trained" clergy and those scandalous outdoor revivals, presumed to be the site of sexual promiscuity and other sins, Methodist ministers were the cautionary tale Congregational and Episcopal congregations were warned about in Sunday sermons. So a lot of people then would have believed a minister murdering to cover up evidence of his misdeeds to be highly credible.

     The book's subtitle alludes to two authors. Catherine Read Arnold Williams came on the scene about half a year after Sarah's death when the trial of her accused killer was breaking news. She was a divorced single parent at a time when it was very challenging. She was supporting herself and her daughter by revenue from her published books. Her methodology and the reflection that went into writing Fall River, considered by many to be America's true crime story, constitutes an important strand in the overall narrative. 

     The second author, Kate Winkler Dawson, entered the picture about a century and a half after Catherine's death. She was able to bring the investigative techniques developed since the early nineteenth century to an analysis of not only the crime and investigation, but the work and biases of her deceased co author.

     So who would I recommend The Sinners All Bow to? 1) True crime story affecianados. We're talking solid narrative with a lot of suspense and complexity. 2) History buffs with an interest in the early years of the industrial revolution. 3) Feminist scholars for its insights into the position of women in this tumultuous time.

On a purrrsonal note, Eugene and I had a super 36th anniversary. He took me to Applebee's for supper and then we went for a drive. It was very hot and humid. I've been putting the backpacks 🎒 together to distribute at the barbeque. I just have to buy a few more items with donated money. I'm really looking forward to seeing the happy kids and families. 

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and to people who have donated backpacks, school supplies, and money. 

Jules Hathaway 

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All The Noise At Once

     Before you read this review I want you to do a little exercise. Close your eyes and recall an experience where everything was coming at you too fast and it was totally overwhelming at all levels including visceral. Try to experience it through as many senses as possible. What were you seeing, hearing, smelling, touching? I think it can get you to better empathize with Aiden, narrator of DeAndra Davis' All The Noise At Once.

     Aiden and his star quarterback big brother, Brandon, are really into football. With Brandon about to graduate high school they want one season together on the team. Aiden has done a lot of preparation. But when summer tryouts come around he becomes over stimulated and doesn't make the cut even though his awareness of game strategies is superior...

     ...Aiden is autistic...

     ...However when the team unexpectedly loses two players Aiden becomes a member. Not all his teammates share Brandon's enthusiasm. They're one way when their QB is around and quite another in his absence. 

     "'Ay, come on, dude. That's out of line. We all been cool since we been kids. You know what's up with him. Don't do that.' Greg says now.

     'No, we've been cool with Brandon since we were kids,' Carter says. 'We've just had to deal with Aiden because our moms and Brandon never want to leave him out.'"

     One evening when the team is hanging out inside and on the grounds of a popular restaurant Carter starts a fight with Aiden. Things escalate rapidly especially when a white bystander calls the cops. When Brandon (who is Black) tries to come to Aiden's rescue, he is tackled by a gun wielding white cop...

     ...who charges Brandon with assaulting an officer. The case is bumped up to adult court despite Brandon being underage. Now his future is very bleak. Instead of attending a good college on an athletic scholarship he could very well end up serving time in an adult prison. 

     All The Noise At Once is one of the rare sports narratives that seamlessly integrates highly relevant social justice issues. I highly recommend it for football players and fans. 

On a purrrsonal note, well, today is a big day--Eugene's and my 36th anniversary. I'm looking forward to us going out to eat which is how he likes to celebrate. I'm going to ditch my usual summer ☀️ attire--short shorts and cat shirts--for a dress and jewelry. Whatever we do I'm super grateful that we're still together because he is the love of my life. 

A great big shout out goes out to my one and only Eugene. 

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Anders & Santi Were Here

     I think those first months when two people are falling in love and developing an intimate relationship are enchanted and magical. I know this was the case for Eugene and me. The places we went, the thoughtful gifts he gave me were just too perfect for words. One day that really stands out in my memory is the day he gave me his class ring on a chain around my neck. We went to Orono Festival. It was like something out of a Hallmark movie. 

     One reason we could be so carefree and happy was a privilege neither of was thinking about back then: birthright citizenship. We didn't have to fear government agents raiding his workplace or my school, sending one or both us into danger, splitting us apart probably forever. In Ander & Santi Were Here Jonny Garza gives readers an intimate look at a romance constantly endangered by America's anything but just immigration policies and their cruel enforcement. 

     Anders was born and has lived in Texas all his life. A recent high school graduate, he's taking a year off before college. He's got a lot to think about: who he wants to be as a mural artist, who the school perceives him as, and whether they are even congruent. He has a residency creating murals through a local agency: Beautify Not Gentrify. And he works at his family's restaurant. 

     His parents aren't happy that he's taking this year off. They want him officially in college studying for his real career. So his mother fires him and hires an undocumented teen, not having a clue that this will complicate, rather than simplify Anders' life.

     Santi and his family have had to flee Mexico. In America he's been separated from his mother and sister. He talks to them on the phone, but it's not the same.

     When the boys fall in love it's good for both of them. Anders gets a clearer vision of what he wants his art to be. Santi begins to get a feeling of what home can be.

     Unfortunately there's ICE on the hunt. 

     In his author's note Villa makes a really important point that I haven't seen expressed elsewhere. Many "allies" are only speaking up a certain type of immigrant: "the valedictorian, future first-generation college student who came here as a baby." He ends the piece by saying:

     "And I hope that, together, those of us who can will stand side by side with all our undocumented hermanes. Even those who aren't DACA kids, who aren't refugees with a morning-show-worthy backstory, who aren't STEM geniuses. I hope that, together, we can uplift those voices and the voices of all undocumented people to make this world a more just, loving, and moral place."

     AMEN TO THAT!!!

On a purrrsonal note, Eugene and I are having quite a weekend. Yesterday we went to a party 🥳 🎉 at the in-laws. I was so happy to get to spend time with Katie, Jacob, and Adam. Pictures, I promise. Today we went on a yard saling road trip. We found lots of good stuff including backpacks and pencils for Backpack Project. Eugene got us subs for lunch. On Tuesday we'll celebrate our 36th anniversary. And I'm every bit as much in love as in those early days I mentioned. Like a Hallmark movie except IRL.

A great big shout out goes out to the one and only Eugene, the love of my life. 

Jules Hathaway 

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On Again, Awkward Again (YA fiction)

     The transition to high school is or was incredibly awkward for so many of us--and not just because of increased academic responsibilities and challenges. There's hormones and body changes. There's discovering identity in the face of societal, marketing, and peer pressure. And there's negotiating relationships including those with romantic potential. Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia nicely address that awkwardness in their On Again, Awkward Again. 

     Pacy is a big time Star Trek fan who caries her enthusiasm over into regular life. She considers most of her new classmates to be Borgs. She has a younger sister for whom everything comes so much easier: academics, extracurricular, relalationships.

     Cecil copes with irritable bowel syndrome and major league allergies. These do not exactly do wonders for his social life. His perfect sibling is his older brother, Cedric. 

     Although Pacy and Cecil develop a mutual crush in a first day of school encounter in the school nurse's office has the social skills or self confidence to pursue it. Then they both end up on the committee to plan the freshman dance. Will this mutual engagement be the catalyst to convert crush into romance or drive them even further apart? Only one way to find out. 

     There's only one this I seriously dislike about this book and a lot of other YA volumes. I've hit the point where I have to see something/say something. Ageism is one of the few acceptable stereotypes in America. Too many YA authors take advantage of this. Writers who would never commit sexist, homophobic, ableist etc microaggressions portray older people as doddering, clueless, and feeble, basically falling apart at the seams. And this does matter immensely for at least three reasons. 

1) Older people are as diverse a group as any other demographic. Some of us are still very much in the game. At 73 (and after a stroke) I just earned my masters degree from Maine's flagship university the month after performing in the school's drag show to thunderous applause and $94 in tips. Would you say I'm not exactly doddering?

2) Driving a wedge between older people and youth is wrong. Both groups have so much to offer each other. That's why I love working with undergrads so much and they adore me. And some of us are as passionate about the environment, Black Lives Mattering, and other crucial social justice issues as we were back in the day. It takes a village to save a planet.

3) All the clues younger people are given about aging will effect the quality of their life in their older years. Now and as they enter the workforce they are bombarded with messages from the media, Hallmark cards, the plastic surgeons who make big bucks off their fear of not looking younger, and so many others that preach that from a certain age it's all decline. There are even doctors who see clinical depression as inevitable and consider referring older adults to a counselor a waste of time and money. What RESEARCH tells us is that people who go through their adult years with a positive view of aging not only are healthier and happier and more engaged and connected as they get along in years, they tend to live over seven years longer than their more pessimistic about aging peers.

     So how about it, YA authors--can you please portray us with the same dignity and respect  for our diversity and humanity as you do for other marginalized groups?

On a personal note, I'm really starting to like my Riverside Park walking loop. Yesterday I noticed a note on a nearby house's lawn: help yourself to raspberries. I sure did. I also this amazing sign on the property that I'll share with you tomorrow. Today I saw a 🐿 and a 🐍 and I got a picture of the 🐍. 

A great big shout out goes out to the people kind enough to share their raspberries. 

Jules Hathaway 

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This is the picture I promised you yesterday. See how gentle the boy is. And notice the frog is, not trying to get away. Once he put it on the ground it showed perfectly good hopping ability. It's like it trusted him.

We have to fight for a world that's better for frogs and children. 

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Better Than Revenge

     Some losses or hurts are harder to get over than others. Sometimes there isn't anyone to blame like when I lost precious Joey cat to cancer or now when the diet I'm on to keep blood pressure down cuts out every food I actually enjoy. But often there is. In that case revenge can seem like a rational and potentially very satisfying option. Anyone who has been in this situation--and TBH I believe most of us have--will most likely want to put Kasie West's Better Than Revenge on the old summer reading list. 

     Finley's career goal is to become a famous podcaster. She has a private podcast and really enjoys creating it. She especially loves profiling not famous people who lead interesting lives. And she has a plan to achieve this goal. 

     "It was finally time. Only seniors host the school's podcast, and they were in charge of auditions. I'd been waiting since freshman year for this. Two and a half years of broadcasting classes where I learned about soundboards and soundproofing and advertising and creative segues. About hot-button topics and interviewing. All to prepare me for this moment."

     Finley is auditioning for one of the two cohost spots on the school's podcast. It would not only provide valuable professional experience, but lead to an internship at the community college. In other words--high stakes competition...

     ...that she loses to her boyfriend--about to become ex boyfriend--who has absolutely no interest in podcasts or professional experience. Not only that but he seriously disrespects her the first time he's on air.

     Can't hardly blame Finley for going for revenge. He's taken a dream away from her. Now she's going to do the same to him by earning the football position he has his ❤️ set on. And his nemesis is going to help her do just that. 

On a purrrsonal note, the children's garden and community gardens are in beautiful bloom. Veggies are being harvested. Gardeners are enjoying the delicious raspberries and blueberries. I am really enjoying the chance to photograph the kids. Yesterday I had a really joyous experience. A 4-year-old boy had caught a frog. He was holding it very gently. His mom was persuading him to release it. I asked him if he'd like me to take his picture with the 🐸. It turned out to one of my all time best pictures. Tomorrow with his mom's consent I'll share the picture with you. 

A great big shout out goes out to the children's garden/community garden crew.

Jules Hathaway 

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The War On Kids

     Many people aren't bothered by the way America is way out of step with the rest of the industrialized world in the number of youth we incarcerate for seriously long stretches of time. To them it's a simple matter of you do the crime; you serve the time. Law professor Cara Drinan isn't one of them. In The War On Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way she totally shreds that argument in an expert blend of law, science, and narratives of children captured by the system. 

     One of the boys whose story she shares, Kuntrell Jackson, was only fourteen when he committed the acts that resulted in a sentence of life in prison with possibility of parole. The sentencing judge claimed that he had chosen to throw his life away even though he had so much going for him. Drinan saw fit to disagree. She uses him as an example of how many kids are predestined for prison from the start. 

     First of all there are the factors in their early environments that damage them profoundly  physically, developmentally, cognitively, emotionally, and socially and make them much. more likely to enter the system: growing up in poverty, being BIPOC, a family history of incarceration, and exposure to violence in the home.

     And then there's the legal and policy mechanisms that further stack the deck against them:

*zero tolerance policies and the school to prison pipeline;

*transfer laws that let juveniles be tried and sentenced as adults;

*ineffective counsel for juveniles 

and *mandatory minimum sentences.

     But toward the back Drinan shares some rays of hope. Some Supreme Court decisions have gone in the right direction. And she outlines some powerful ways that in the war on kids kids and their allies have a fighting chance.

On a purrrsonal note, Eugene and I  had a lovely weekend at camp. It was sunny 🌞 and breezy and not too hot. We saw deer a couple of times.  There were hardly any mosquitoes. And we lucked out on yard sales. Sunday when we got home I decided to find the Riverside Park I'd discovered in 2020. It's really pretty and the same length as my other training routes. Now I have three. I got home just as the rain 🌧 that would last the rest of the day started. 

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene. 

Jules Hathaway 

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