Tag: memoir

Tangled Up in Blue

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

Rosa Brooks was a forty-something law professor when she decided to become a Reserve Police Officer in Washington, D.C. Reserve police officers in Washington D.C. carry a gun, respond to emergency calls, go out on patrol – they serve in a volunteer capacity, but hold much of the same responsibility of any other police officer. Tangled Up in Blue chronicles Brook’s journey through police school and her experience of being a cop in our nation’s capital. She both shares personal stories of her shifts, and takes a step back to examine the larger culture of police officers and the criminal justice system at large. This book comes out in a couple of weeks – make sure you grab a copy!

What I loved most:

This book is described as being both for people who think police can do no wrong, and people who think police can do no right. Obviously, people have THE strongest opinions on policing right now. Y’all know that I am personally fascinated by the criminal justice system, and I just had to backspace a bunch in this review to take out what was turning into a lengthy monologue on the need for the system to be completely overhauled. But here’s what I love about this book: Rosa Brooks doesn’t make excuses for the real disparities between how different races are treated by the criminal justice system. She doesn’t claim that all police offers are perfect and infallible. But she also shares the real experiences of police officers in this day and age, showing that there are just so many good police officers out there trying to keep their communities safe. We as a society love to see things in black and white, good or bad, absolute terms. Tangled Up in Blue rests in the grey.

Read this book if you like:

Criminal justice, taking the time to listen without preconcieved notions, acknowledging systemic inequalities, sociology, memoirs

Book details:

  • Author: Rosa Brooks
  • Publisher: Penguin Press
  • Date of Publication: February 9, 2021
  • Age Recommendation: Adult

Thirst

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

Scott Harrison was a successful nightclub promoter, living the high life in New York City. When he was 28 years old, he hit the metaphorical wall, turned his life over to Jesus, and eventually started a nonprofit organization aimed at meeting one of the most pressing issues across the world: lack of clean water. Thirst is Harrison’s memoir chronicling his journey to starting and running the amazing global nonprofit charity: water, which aims to provide access to clean and safe water to people in developing countries.

What I loved most:

Until I read Thirst, I hadn’t realized the magnitude of the problem of lack of access to clean water globally. This book does a great job of balancing out Harrison’s story of starting the nonprofit, and explaining why this organization is so necessary. An estimated 785 million people across the world don’t have access to clean water. They have to spend hours each day walking to collect water… which takes time away from school, earning income, raising a family, and all the other crucial tasks to thrive in life. This is the kind of book that fires you up as you read it, and makes you want to take action and make a real difference in people’s lives.

Read this book if you like:

Seeing a need and meeting it, changing the lives of people around the world, nonprofits, redemption stories, global worldview

Book details:

  • Author: Scott Harrison
  • Publisher: Currency
  • Date of Publication: October 18, 2018
  • Interest level: Adult
  • Look up Thirst on WorldCat to find it at a library near you!

Honey and Venom

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

When I think of beekeeping, I definitely don’t tend to think of New York City. Little did I know… urban beekeeping is a thing. In Honey and Venom, Andrew Cote shares a year in his life as a beekeeper in NYC. From selling honey from his hives at local farmers markets, to serving as a liaison between beekeepers and businesses that don’t want bees near their companies, to helping police remove illegal beehives… Cote is as busy as a bee (I’m so sorry but how could I possibly resist). For real though, this is a captivating memoir that I would highly recommend.

What I loved most:

I drink black tea with honey every. single. morning. of my life. As such, I was excited to learn more about the honey production process, and bees in general. This was such a good mix of bee information with personal stories – it was exactly what I was hoping it would be. Plus, Cote founded a nonprofit organization called Bees Without Borders. This group teaches beekeeping all around the globe to fight poverty. Cote shares some of his stories of traveling around the world to teach people beekeeping, helping them figure out a new way to earn income. I always get super pumped when people want to use the skills that they have to make other people’s lives better, so I love that Cote started this organization and is helping provide people with information and tools they can use to climb out of poverty.

Read this book if you like:

Biographies, bees, honey, nature, figuring out what nature looks like in an urban setting

Book details: