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By: Kim Akers
The top book this week at the Quincy Public Library is Say No More, the second book in the Sacramento series by Karen Rose. For the first 12 years of her life, Mercy Reynolds lived in the commune of Eden with her mother, the other cult members, and Brother Ephraim. Abused, molested, and treated as less because she was a girl, Mercy’s mother made the ultimate sacrifice to get her daughter away from the cult. A few years earlier, she managed to help Mercy’s brother Gideon escape and it cost their little family dearly. Now 17 years later, Mercy has finally reconnected with Gideon, but their relationship is strained at best. As she tries to create a new bond with her brother, they must both put aside their animosity when Ephraim discovers that Mercy and Gideon are still alive. As his “wife,” Ephraim believes Mercy belongs to him and he will stop at nothing to get her back in his life one way or another. Even though this is the second book in the series, Rose has done a masterful job of making the story stand on its own; it won’t leave you lost if you choose to read them out of order. Check out Say You’re Sorry to read Gideon’s story.
She Came to Slay by Erica Armstrong Dunbar is an illustrated biography of Harriet Tubman. While many books have been written about this courageous woman, this one stands out because it not only chronicles her well-known adventures on the Underground Railroad and her work during the Civil War on behalf of the Union Army, but also her life as a senior citizen and widow. After her second husband died, Tubman turned to activism, working on behalf of black female suffragists and the need for homes for the elderly and infirm black people. Even though she had very little money herself and had health issues from her days as a slave, Tubman worked tirelessly to fulfill her final dream. In 1908, the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged and Indigent Negroes opened its doors. Five short years later, Harriet Tubman died in that very home. Dunbar’s book is informative and a enlightening look at one of America’s true heroes.
Jarvis Jay Masters is a textbook example of what’s wrong with our world. Growing up in a house filled with drugs, abuse, and prostitution, it was inevitable that he would become a criminal himself. In prison since he was 19 years old for armed robbery, Masters was a prime candidate for radicalization by one of the many gangs in San Quentin. In 1990, Masters was convicted of participating in the murder of a guard and eventually sentenced to solitary confinement on death row. While waiting on the verdict, his criminal investigator introduced him to meditation as a way to control his rage and feelings of helplessness. Turning to a Tibetan Buddhist lama for guidance, Masters slowly began his journey into enlightenment. Even though Masters has remained on death row for the past 30 years, he uses his Buddhism as a way to reach other prisoners in San Quentin to help them through their pain and rage. David Sheff has written a powerful book about spiritual transformation entitled The Buddhist on Death Row.
These materials are available for checkout at the Quincy Public Library if you have a current Quincy Public Library card. Reciprocal borrowing cards from other area libraries will be honored as well. Materials may be available in a variety of formats including audio books, digital books, large print, regular print, and/or may be available from other libraries through the Resource Sharing Alliance. We also encourage you download any of our digital materials, access streaming services, or utilize our databases from the comfort of your home. You can place holds on materials any time of the day and pick them up at the Library or at one of our hold lockers. You may place reserves on library materials and check your patron record online at www.quincylibrary.org.