Because of the holy week, we did not meet last Thursday for book club, but met today instead. We read and discussed The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore. This book is non-fiction and tells the story of two young men, both with ties to Baltimore. The one who wrote the book was a Rhodes Scholar and the one who did not write the book is in prison for murder. The very saddest part of the book to me was when the "other" Wes Moore signed up for, attended and successfully participated in Job Corps. He earned his GED, returned to Baltimore and worked for a year in landscaping and restaurant work. However, his potential salary was not enough to support his family and he eventually went back into the drug trade, ending up in prison for life. I do not condone the violence that he participated in. However, I do lament the fact that young men in our cities often do not have a reasonable opportunity to make a decent living. When opportunity does not exist, something will fill the void.
We all decided that we need to read something that is a little more up for next month, so Lisa (our organizer) is looking into getting us copies of Super Sad True Love Story, billed as a satire about love. How much more "up" can you get? Anyone out there have any other suggestions?
And did you notice, this month's book was about Wes, my new grandson's name?
No comments:
Post a Comment