Study, Learn and Grow: Page Turners - Our first-ever book giveaway

Friday, October 28, 2022

Page Turners - Our first-ever book giveaway

Stories from prison, seeking an epiphany, book giveaway

Dear Outlook Readers,

The latest issue of the Outlook arrived in yesterday’s mail, and it’s a good one! We focus on prison ministries; I’m thrilled to share additional books that lift up the stories of (formerly and currently) incarcerated men. These stories intersect in a surprising and hopeful way with the recently released A Brown Girl’s Epiphany. If I had to summarize author Aurelia Davila Pratt’s “epiphany,” it would be this: You Are Enough. Hard stop.

As a child, Pratt was made to feel “less than” because she lacked many of the status symbols her wealthier and whiter friends possessed. Children in the affluent community where I served as a pastor had the opposite problem – they sometimes believed they were only as good as their “stuff” or activities (grades, goals scored, physical appearance, etc.).

We all need to know that the image of God resides in us. “You are enough” resonates. I hope you’ll read on for more books, resources and wisdom to share this message within your churches and communities — and to experience it for yourself.

Happy reading,

Amy Pagliarella
Presbyterian Outlook's book review editor

P.S. Thank you for your kind response to our inaugural Page Turners last month. Please keep sending us feedback and book suggestions — we use these to keep this space relevant to your lives and ministries.

Book Giveaway!
Thanks to Broadleaf Books, we're giving away a copy of Aurelia Davila Pratt’s A Brown Girl's Epiphany at the end of November to one lucky reader of Page Turners. If you're reading this note, then you're all set! Know someone else who should be reading Page Turners? Send them this link and they'll get entered for a chance to win, too.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“In order for us to step into abundance, we must become people who are willing to dream. Many of us have quieted our urge to dream as a form of protection. Yet we sense ourselves growing out of this restricted existence. We need more. We deserve more…

I am learning that the practice of dreaming in and of itself produces abundance. It is healing work that results in its own set of growth gifts. Even if I don’t achieve or receive whatever actual fill in the blanks I had hoped for, the fact that I am willing to dream sets me on an alternative trajectory.”

Aurelia Davila Pratt, A Brown Girl’s Epiphany

BOOK OF THE MONTH

Letters to the Sons of Society is an altar call to sons and fathers of this generation. Shaka Senghor’s letters to his sons touched me as testimonies and a release of heart-felt emotions while dealing with the

reality of broken homes and rebuilding those relationships that have been severed due to the tragedy of incarceration. We have yet to fully understand nor acknowledge the impact of the war on drugs and mass incarceration. These letters – written to the older son who grew up while Senghor was in prison for second degree murder and to the younger son born after Senghor’s release – are a start.

I thank Shaka Senghor for giving us this insight into transparency in the truest sense of the word. I would recommend this book to anyone that has been directly impacted by imprisonment and is trying to reconnect to their loved ones, as well as loved ones trying to reconnect to individuals that are directly impacted. It is a long journey, but this book makes it easier to traverse by offering a new perspective on how to acknowledge one another.

Reviewed by Alonzo Lee Waheed Sr., founder of Gate Keepers and partner with McCormick Theological Seminary’s Solidarity Building Initiative. Alonzo works with young men in Chicago to eradicate violence and to help heal currently and formerly incarcerated people.