I’m probably going to be pretty pooped out on writing this month, so I’m not sure if my standard blog posts are going to happen.  I’m due for a couple more book reviews, but aside from that, I think I’m going to keep my blog posts focused on the NaNoWriMo experience.

So I’ve finished day 2, which is technically my day 1, since I’m determined to not write on Sundays.

So far, I’ve finished 2000 words, hitting my goal for the day.  Here’s hoping that the first couple pages are some of the hardest, because I kept having to make up new characters as I went.  And I also had to keep myself from Googling factoids that I wasn’t sure about.  I’m trying to keep this as low research as possible, hence the subject matter of the book, basically locally oriented chick lit.  Out of all my story ideas, which I shared with Dan, it seemed like the best suited for this kind of project.

Let’s see, discoveries for today.  I’m realizing that characters let you in on secrets about their future. I’ll be writing about a character and something surprising will pop out of his or her mouth, indicating a future sub-plot that I would have never expected.  So, of course, every time that happens, I need to jot down that plot development in my little “plot overview” sheet, which is really just a short list of things I want to happen in the book.  Right now, it seems like I’m on a journey from point to point, just trying to make it to the milestones I’ve set up for these characters.

Oh, and the exposition stage is a real bear.  I hate it when books just dump down the entire character history right off the bat.  I’m more of an in medias res kind of person (where the book starts in the middle of the action).  But the challenge to that is incorporating the character background in a natural kind of way.

Stay tuned for more on this adventure.  Here’s my NaNoWriMo page with the new page numbers listed: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/567502.

Dan and I had a nice long chat about whether or not I’m off my rocker, and we came to the conclusion that while I might be slightly disturbed, I’m not completely ready for the psych ward.  I’m going to do the National Novel Writing Month contest, which means I’m going to be writing a 50,000 word (aprox. 175 page) novel this month.

Here’s the deal.  I never finish any large writing products. I’ve written several books with only a chapter or two completed (mostly nonfiction).  And I typically leave my short stories about 1/2 finished.  This blog and a few journal and newspaper articles seem to be the only things I can get finished.

It seems like deadlines help.  But also, the longest thing I’ve written is my 70 page Master’s thesis.  I’d like to tackle a bigger project and actually finish it.

I have a lot of ideas for topics, so I’m going to be running them by my husband later to see which one will work best for this kind of writing.

You can see my official NaNoWriMo site here.  And ideally, I’ll try to update my wordcount every few days.

Here’s to trying something new and challenging.  Remember that post I did about risks awhile ago? I think this classifies as one.

Athol Dickson’s latest book, Lost Mission, was a pleasant surprise.  Every so often, I try to read current Christian fiction to see what’s going on in that market.  I admit, it’s not my favorite genre, largely because the quality of the writing has been so poor, especially when compared with the general market.  But Dickson has brought Christian fiction a little closer to the standards for the general market, and for that, I am grateful.

The story isn’t so simple (one major reason it sticks out from within the Christian fiction market).  Dickson weaves plotlines together across several centuries, including an 19^th century monk who works at a Spanish mission and several contemporary plotlines that interweave.  There’s Lupe, the Mexican shopkeeper who is called by God on a mission to preach to the Americans.  And Tucker, a recent seminary graduate who is trying to make a difference in the lives of the Latin Americans who live in his southern California town illegally (I don’t know if I can say “illegal alien” after all the hype over that Halloween costume, so I’ll just steer clear).  And there’s the ridiculously rich Delano with his beachfront home in California, who tries to save his soul through the money he gives to his opulent church. 

There’s a mystical/magical realism to the book, lending me to think about such mainstream favorites as Salman Rushdie and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  Of course, they’re in a different league, but I’ve got to give Dickson credit for trying. 

My least favorite stylistic element is Dickson’s awkward and confusing method of transitioning between time periods.  We move from the 18^th century to the modern day mid sentence, and it’s never a very appropriate place to transition. It feels very forced.

One additional gripe, which is a minor component of the book but really struck me the wrong way, were the lectures on depression and the use of medicines for them.  I’m really sick of hearing Christians rant about this and point fingers at people who choose to medicate a serious medical condition. 

What makes this book move Christian fiction a step closer to mainstream fiction is its willingness to allow for bad Christians.  Yes, these are saved people who don’t behave themselves.  And that’s a much better reflection of the world as we know it.  There are so many more shades of grey in this book, which is refreshing, given the cliché “good” characters and cliché “bad” characters that populate typical Christian fiction.  In its dark realism, there are hints of Flannery O’Connor’s approach, to revealing the darker side of us all and leaving the heroes and heroines a little muddled, so we need to sort out the moral ambiguities for ourselves.

Okay, there is one character who is too goody two shoes to be real, but I won’t say who it is.  I was a bit disappointed that this vestige of current Christian fiction still remained, but at least, the character isn’t the typical American Christian. There’s at least a little uniqueness there.

And thankfully, there’s no “obligatory” conversion experience. 

So I’ll encourage you to read the book and judge for yourselves if it’s coming closer to the mainstream standards.  I wouldn’t mind if a few of us “voted with our dollars” that we’re looking for more complex, morally complicated books from Christian publishers.

And if you’re interested in hearing what other reviewers are saying about the book, including some opportunities to win a free copy of the book, visit this link.

Many thanks to the LitFuse Publicity Group and Howard Fiction for providing me with a review copy of this book.

Last Sunday, I got convicted of a bad reading habit. 

I admit, when I found out that in our study of Luke, we’d be spending an entire sermon on Mary’s Magnificat, I was a little unenthused. I’ve read that thing a million times, and it’s a nice little song and all, but seriously, a whole sermon on it?

Prepared to be bored, I got out my iTouch and readied it for multi-tasking.  I read my Bible on it during church, so it’s pretty easy to surreptitiously switch over to another program without anyone noticing.  Bad habit, I know.

But our pastor proceeded to give a great sermon, explaining just why this little portion of scripture was worthy of our attention. For example, did you know that young Mary expounds on 17 attributes of God in her song?  There’s an entire theology wrapped up in those nine verses (Luke 1:46-55).  She also demonstrates the right attitude to present when facing trials, something especially handy these days. 

And here I was, guilty of glossing over this section, time and time again.  It made me wonder if I’ve ever really tried to understand it.  I’d simply took it at face value, as a cute song of thanks, and moved onto more interesting things (in this case, John the Baptist’s birth). 

I’m recognizing that if I’m to believe that the Bible is God’s word, I’ve got to realize that means all of it, even Leviticus (which has worked in the past for me as an excellent insomnia cure).  By glossing over some parts and picking others as more worthy, my reading habits indicate that I’m not devoted to the whole of it. 

So what’s a Bible glosser to do?  I haven’t quite figured this part out.  But I think it’s going to require a serious effort to study all of it, not just my favorite bits.  Perhaps it will involve heavy use of my footnotes, which help clue me into why boring parts shouldn’t be so boring.  I’ve got a great version with excellent footnotes, the ESV Study Bible, and I need to be taking advantage of the additional information it provides. 

But most importantly, I think it’s a matter of attitude and of thirst.  If I’m easily quenched by the obvious, surface stuff, I’m missing out on another level of teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness, and equipping (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 

And I want more. I want the full Word and all its power to pierce the division of my soul and spirit and discern the thoughts and intentions of my heart (Hebrews 4:12).

I won’t settle for less.

Today’s book review is a little unusual for me.  Multnomah Publishers offered me the opportunity to review this book, and I was struck by how this could be an important book, because it addresses a topic with which most women can relate.  So, this week, I’m reviewing a Christian sex book (and no, that isn’t an oxymoron).

Kiss me Again: Restoring Lost Intimacy in Marriage, isn’t exactly what the title leads you to believe.  It’s more of a book about digging through your past sexual sins and those committed against you, so that today, you can have a better love life with your spouse.  Ninety percent of the book is focused on looking to the past to heal the future. 

Personally, I was hoping for a few more “how to” tips for today, that weren’t so focused on past sexual sins.  But Barbara Wilson won me over to the importance of dealing with the past before you even have hope in the present and future.  As someone who has worked with many couples as director of sexual health education for a pregnancy resource center, she’s knowledgeable on the research she cites as well as with personal stories of those who have found this information life changing.  The statistic that caught my attention the most was that 95% of people will have sex before they get married, Christian or not (5).  It shows that pre-marital sexual issues are in the majority, so it’s wise to deal with something so overwhelmingly prevalent. 

Wilson deals with a full range of sexual addictions and experiences that can interfere with your healthy, married love life (and she also does a good job showing what a healthy love life might look like).  The book is highly targeted to women, so you’ll find info on pornography use by women (this needed a bit more info, since it’s such a huge issue today), shacking up, and even abuse.  She’s big on wives confessing all to their husbands, openly, and in the right context and timing.  And Wilson encourages a lot of guided, reflective journaling to help you work through the past issues and find healing in Christ.

I appreciated the research minded approach (even if she went a little overboard with attributing most problems to oxytocin issues).  She comes across as very trustworthy, someone who knows this topic through and through.  And while I’m of the impression that meeting one-on-one with a professional Christian counselor is the best way to address these issues, this book might be a second best step, for those who don’t want to see a professional for help. 

What I come away with most from this book is an amazing sense of hope for our marriages.  We have Jesus, the healer, the redeemer, the savior, to help us have the marriages he wants for us.  He doesn’t want us burdened by past sin that corrupts our marriages.  He’s for our marriages, for healthy marriage beds and minds free from guilt and shame.  And it’s comforting to know that no matter our past mistakes, he’s here to make our futures bright. 

Thanks to the folks at Multnomah/Random House Publishers for providing me with a review copy of this book. Visit the publisher’s website to learn more about the book.

Today, I’m visiting my happy place.  Would you like to come along?

Welcome to the Cinque Terre. It’s a special world, set apart from the regular world, where time slows down, the people are friendly, the sun always shines, and cars don’t exist.

The Cinque Terre is composed of 5 towns, each with its own character, all sitting next to the Mediterranean.  Their other similarities include their car-free living, hilly terraces, pesto, wine, fruit de mare (seafood caught in the morning and served that night).

Let’s visit the first town, our home base.  It’s called Riomaggiore.

Riomaggiore is the southernmost town.  It’s steeply vertical orientation makes it a challenge to walk, but it’s well worth the splendid vistas at every turn.

The harbor is a wild and sometimes fierce place, when the wind blows in, and daredevil rock jumpers swim in the deep waters.

Around 5:00 p.m., the locals all come out to walk the streets, sit on benches, and chat with each other.  The children gather at the church to play football.

Walk down the main street, and you’ll see the several restaurants, all advertising the catch of the day, two grocery stores, jewelry and beach gear vendors, and the local fruit stand.

At the bottom of the main street, take a right, and walk the long tunnel to the train station.  But we’re not taking a train.  We’re walking the Via dell’Amore.

This famous walk is called lovers lane for a reason.  You don’t find views like this just anywhere.  For years, lovers have come here to place a padlock all along the route, a symbol of the strength of their love.

In about 20 minutes, you’re at the second town, Manarola.

Little Manarola boasts the best deep water swimming around, with easy access ladders in the harbor, and little boat traffic to get in the way.

At this point, you have a choice, continue the hike from the Via dell’Amore or take the train.  I advise the train because the hike from here is pretty rough going.

Arrive at Corniglia, the town on the hill, far above the water.

To get to the town, take a small, highly packed bus that leaves the train station about every 30 minutes, or walk up the steep stairs, which will take you what seems like forever, to get an incredible view of the land below.  Corniglia has a rocky beach below the train station for swimmers equipped with footwear.

Hop back on the train, and see Rick Steves’ favorite town, Vernazza (you can hear him gush about it here).  It has a lot to offer, for sure.  The only town with a natural harbor, there is a modest sandy beach with easy access and shallow swimming areas.

Climb to the top of the castle and look out over the ocean, or eat at the restaurant, which has you perched overlooking the most beautiful stretch of coastline in Italy.

And your final stop on this daydream will be Monterosso del Mare, the town with the incredible sandy beaches.  Leave the train station and walk the strip along the water, taking a break at a gelato stand if you get tired.  And keep walking until you pass through a large tunnel.  On the other side, find the quieter beaches, filled with more locals and less tourists.

Keep an eye out for the “coco” vendors, selling fresh pieces of coconut to chew on while you’re basking in the sun.

And this ends our journey to the Italian Rivera.  Thanks for being my travel companion.

The 19^th Wife by David Ebershoff sounded too scandalous to avoid.  It promised to combine plotlines, one focusing on the Mormon prophet Brigham Young, and another about Mormon polygamy in modern times.  Plus, it was at Costco.  And I can’t help myself when it comes to Costco bestsellers.

I loved the concept of this book.  It takes historical fiction and modern fiction and combines them.  In addition, it combines real historical documents into the mix, a way to lend authenticity to the stories.

However, even though both story lines were very engaging, they had some serious draw backs.  The main one, for me, was that you could never tell what was fact and what was fiction.  Sure, there are the historical documents in there, but you never know if they are really 100% true or have been fabricated a bit.  And I’m more comfortable with my non-fiction staying clearly separate from my fiction, not all this confused, unlabeled intermixing. 

Story line #1 is about the life of Brigham Young’s 19^th wife, a true historical figure named Ann Eliza.  Eliza is famous for her crusade to end polygamy in the US, after she divorced Young and toured the country giving public lectures about her marriage and scary details about Mormon polygamy in general. 

Story line #2 is a modern who-done-it, staged at a fictitious modern day fundamentalist Mormon compound that still practices polygamy.  The main character, Jordan Scott, a twenty something, homosexual, former compound member, sets out to solve the mystery of his father’s murder.  Jordan’s mother has been convicted of the murder, and Jordan revisits his former world at the compound to help her get off the hook. 

The book has a few very overt agendas/messages.  The first is an open challenge to the modern Mormon Church regarding their non-acceptance of homosexuals.  Jordan finds love and acceptance with his boyfriend in an apostate Mormon church that embraces gays and lesbians.  The author’s other beef is the Mormons’ covering up of their polygamist roots.  Ebershoff details Joseph Smith’s revelation about polygamy and shows how he and Brigham openly practiced and encouraged it as an essential means to salvation. 

To be honest, the book lagged a bit.  There were long stretches, especially in the format of an academic term paper, that got really boring.  My favorite parts were about Ann Eliza and her story, which taken alone, would have made for a much better book.

Ebershoff makes a good case for why someone like Ann Eliza would become entrapped in polygamy in the first place, and a lot of it has to do with the manipulating and corrupting power of “religion.”  I gained a greater understanding of how people who are raised and entrenched in an extreme religious culture can accept repulsive and dehumanizing behaviors.  This not only lends insight into the modern polygamist Mormon sects, but it also can explain some of the behaviors of extremist Islamic fanatics.

When the object of your devotion is a religion, you become victim to religion.  But when you follow Jesus, you’re not following religion, you’re following a person (who happens to be God), one who is good, one who is righteous, and one who won’t victimize you or lead you into dehumanizing acts.

Ever wonder why Jesus used fishing in so many of his parables and analogies? He could have chosen donkeys or carpentry, but he stuck with fishing, again and again.  Of course, it has something to do with his audience (those disciples were devoted fishermen), but I think it has more to do with the fact that fishing naturally lends itself to comparison with Christianity.

Standing on the river bank, throwing my line in the water, I can’t help but draw some biblical allusions.  Last weekend, we went fishing for salmon at our favorite spot up in BC.  And there’s nothing like a day of fishing to award you some clarity of mind.

As I patiently cast the line, time and time again, sometimes coming up with nothing, sometimes getting a fish on, only to lose it, and sometimes bringing it safely to shore, I recognized how perseverance plays such a large role in fishing and in the Christian life.  After 20 unsuccessful casts, I could have given up and stopped throwing that line in, but I knew that success often came at the 50^th cast.

And Paul tells us to have the same attitude in prayer.  Even if we can’t see our prayers being answered, even if we’re tired of praying the same things time and time again, we need to persist, ”praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.  To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18). God promises to hear and answer our prayers (even if that answer is “no”), but the whole point is that we keep praying, to change us, to intercede for others, and to glorify God.

Jesus also recognized the connection between fishing and evangelism.  We are to become “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).  But fishing isn’t as simple as dropping a worm on a hook in the water.  There are a lot of different types of fish out there, and they all require different tie-ups.  Last weekend, I was fishing for three different types of salmon. The humpies (pinks) seemed to prefer pink colored yarn and beads (2 small ones) with a black hook.  And the Chum (dogs) liked either green or purple tie-ups.  The Coho (silvers) were the trickiest to catch, and I managed to land a 10 pound fish on a Chum tie-up.  But they’re supposed to bite on silver lures.

As with fish, it is with people.  When we’re reaching out to young people, we’ve got to use a different “lure” than when we’re reaching out to baby boomers.  They all have different tastes.  Now, there will be times that one message will cross over between people groups, like when my silver chomped down on my humpy tie-up.  But for the most part, it’s good to know your audience and tailor your words to suit them (while sticking to the Truth and the fishery rules).  This takes discernment and wisdom.  Standing on a street corner, waving a sign about the coming apocalypse might catch a few people, but for the most part, it’s not going to work for everyone else.

On, and the same tie-up won’t necessarily work two days in a row, or different hours in the day for that matter.  The clouds will change the color of the water and its reflective abilities, so it’s often wise to try another tie-up if clouds roll in on an otherwise sunny day.  These variations make fishing challenging, but they also bring excitement and the thrill of a challenge.  And when we’re out to catch people, to tell them the good news about the Truth of the gospel, what worked one day might not work as well on another.  If people are in a season of suffering or they’re living on cloud nine, you need to take that into account.

I think I’ll end my fish tales here today, but this is a theme I’ll likely revisit.  Spending more time on the river will doubtless yield more insight and comparisons.

Maybe some other fishermen and fisherwomen have similar analogies to share with me.  I’d love to hear them!

I might step on some toes with this post.  Most likely Catholic ones.  But I want to address the veneration of Mary, Jesus’ mom.

It seemed that no matter where we went in Italy, Mary was there, in all her glory.  We saw her in the Cinque Terre, in little altars along the trails (roads) we walked.  In Tuscany, she was prominently featured in every church we visited.  And in Rome and the Vatican, we found the same thing.

One reason I want to discuss this topic now is that yesterday’s sermon at church addressed Mary and the appropriate Biblical response we can have to her.  Our pastor took a nice middle road, one that doesn’t set Mary too high but also doesn’t neglect her importance as a wonderful role model for women, especially young girls. I thought it might be nice timing to show a little bit of what we found at Catholicism grand central.

I’m going to focus on one church in particular, out of the dozens we visited.  This one epitomized for me all that was problematic about the Mary veneration.

The parish church of San Lorenzo isn’t among the major tourist destinations in Italy. In fact, it’s a ways outside of Florence, about 40 minutes by train.  And it’s a decent walk from the train station (especially in 90 degree heat).  What makes it so special is that it’s old, really old.  It was built on an ancient Roman temple to Bacchus (that wine loving god) in the 10^th century.  Records indicate as early as 934 A.D.  Another special feature of the church is its collection of artwork.  For being a small parish church in a little town, it certainly has a lot of incredible art work.  Below, you’ll find our video overview of the sanctuary.

Among the works is a Giotto, that medieval artist who is considered to have ushered in the Italian Renaissance. Despite its illustrious attribution, the painting isn’t particularly noteworthy in appearance. However, it’s come to symbolize a lot of Italian church art for me.  The painting, from late in Giotto’s life (late 13^th century), is titled very simply: Madonna.  However, upon closer inspection, you’ll notice a disembodied baby hand touching Mary’s face.  That would be the missing baby Jesus.  Nowhere in the title do we learn about the child.  Today, because of damage over the years, we simply have “Madonna.”  And while once, Jesus probably played a larger role, now, it’s Mary who steals the show.  She’s enrobed in queenly garments, with gold filigree and details (not the humble peasant image we get from the Bible). And she appears to be in her late 20s or 30s (not the teenager that Joseph married). 

My beef with this painting is its putting all the focus on Mary.  She’s not the main attraction.  She’s important, but she shouldn’t get first billing.  That little child in her lap (who currently happens to be missing his body), is the one who should steal the show.  He’s the one who was miraculously born, he’s the one who stepped down from his throne in heaven to a humble life on Earth, and he’s the one who would grow up to die for our sins.  Not his mom.

And the Pieve di San Lorenzo (The Parish Church of Saint Lawrence) gives us one more work of art that signifies the wrong attitude toward Mary.  This work is by Matteo Rosselini from 1615 (I didn’t get to use flash, so the picture is a bit fuzzy).  Its highly descriptive name is “The Saints Domenico and Francesco Interceding with Christ.”  This painting bothered me a lot.  Here, you have two saints down on earth pleading with a very angry looking Jesus.  Jesus is poised with weapons, ready to hurl them down on the innocent looking men.  This is more like the Jesus image I get for the last Judgement (toward the unrepentant and unredeemed), but here, Jesus seems to have no concern for the saints.  It’s Mary, sitting at his right hand, pleading with him.  She’s the one who is merciful.  She’s the one who hears the priests’ prayers. What a messed up picture of grace! 

We don’t need to pray to Mary, who then cools down her angry son.  We have direct contact with God the Father through Jesus and the interceding work of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26, John 14:16-17, & Luke 11:1-4).  No Mary needed to talk with Jesus or The Father.  And if you’re a believer, don’t expect Jesus to strike you down with his wrath.  He’s out to save you, to do good for you (I John 2:1).  For heaven’s sake, he died so we might live.  Mary didn’t do that.  Jesus did.

But in my doctrinal clarification, I don’t want it to come across that I hate Catholics or think that Catholics aren’t Christians.  I love my Catholic brothers and sisters.  I just don’t want any unbiblical doctrines to get in the way of the true focus, on Jesus.

We should rejoice because we have free and easy access to the Creator of the Universe.  Don’t stick unnecessary mediators between you and God.  Worship him freely, ask of him without reservations, and have that one-on-one relationship for which you were created.

I’ve been looking forward to reading Toni Morrison’s latest novel for awhile.  Her books always shoot right to the top of the bestseller list, even though they are often very difficult to read: emotionally, thematically, and stylistically.  Anybody who can write like that but still get wide scale public reading deserves my attention.  Plus, with A Mercy, she took a different approach than she typically does, by expanding the discussion of slavery to the various forms of slavery our country has endured.

The narrative is often times difficult to follow.  It’s Morrison after all, so I’m not surprised. Interestingly, she gives these voiceless characters voices and allows them to tell their own part of the story, which often isn’t in chronological order. 

The story begins with a farmer named Jacob Vaark, who is working to create a life in the new world, circa late 1600s.   He colonizes his farm with a variety of people: black, white, and Native American slaves; indentured servants; and a wife, purchased from England.  The main theme of the book is slavery in its various forms and how our country in its infancy turned to slavery for its growth. 

Lina is a Native American slave who is purchased by Jacob after her family is ravaged by smallpox.  She becomes the friend and confident of Mrs. Rebekkah Vaark, a woman in a new country, working to make a new life and escape the evils she found in England.  Vaark also purchases a young black slave named Florens, whose own mother asked Vaark to take her daughter away because she believed Vaark would offer her a better life.  Sorrow is a mysterious character who is a white orphan who lived at sea with her family, only to be shipwrecked and taken in by Vaark as another servant. 

The action of the plot arrives when a free black man, a blacksmith, works on Vaark’s grand new home, only to win the heart of Florens.  The blacksmith demonstrates a talent for healing, and when the Rebekkah falls ill with Smallpox, Florens undertakes a long and dangerous journey to find him.

Morrison addresses many powerful topics in this book, but the idea that slavery exists in many forms was the most resonant and applicable for me.  Not only were black people enslaved by our country during a particular time period, slavery extended to all skin colors.  Not only that, but slavery isn’t always the purchased labor of another human being.  It extends to the many ways we contract ourselves to others.  Such a broad understanding of slavery allows us in the modern era to conceive of how we might be slaves.

Are we slaves to our jobs? Have we signed on the bottom line and indentured ourselves to work that is beneath our own honor, or are we serving a worthless master, a false idol that has entrapped us?  Our hearts can be enslaved by passions that disable us from freedom in Christ. 

Never is the concept more powerful in the book but when Florens declares her love for the blacksmith, by telling him, “You alone own me.”  To the free black man, this statement is repellant. “Own yourself, woman,” he answers. “You are nothing but wilderness. No constraint. No mind.”  He’s telling her that she isn’t free because she has enslaved herself to her emotions.  The blacksmith has become a false idol, above all else, and she loses the freedom to be herself.

Fortunately, it’s a short book, one of Morrison’s shortest.  If you haven’t read Morrison before, this might be a good place to start, especially if you pair it with her Nobel Prize winning Beloved, another book that addresses slavery in our country.