Breathe – A Letter to my Sons selected as the UUA 2021 Common Read
Join us for this study/discussion group Monday, March 15 @ 10 am via Zoom.
Use the Contact Us (found at the top and bottom of every page on this website) to sign up and/or get the Zoom link.
Staying connected to other people during this pandemic is more difficult than when life is “normal,” but doing so seems especially important. One way UUs can connect with others of our faith is by reading and discussing the UU Common Read for 2020-21: Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry. Watch this brief video of the author being interviewed on MSNBC.
The book is addressed to Perry’s two African American sons, advising them on how to navigate this often-racist society, but many of its observations can apply to everyone, not only people of color. Imani draws upon her own family anecdotes—sometimes funny, always insightful—as well as the writings of such disparate figures as James Baldwin, Emily Dickinson, Ida B. Wells, Toni Morrison, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The “UU Common Read” page at uua.org calls the book “a broader meditation on race, gender, and the meaning of a life well lived,” as well as “an unforgettable lesson in Black resistance and resilience.”
The book is available in hard cover from inSpirit – the UU bookstore for $18.00, (10% less if 10 of us order). Discussion materials for UU congregations, groups, and individuals will be available online, at no charge, by the end of January 2021.
Marion Hill has volunteered to lead one or more discussions of the book and asks anyone interested in participating to email her here. Discussions will be held via Zoom, and Marion will set up two or three (depending on demand) Zoom meetings in February. This will give time for participants to get copies of the book and to receive the UU discussion materials.
“This promises to be an interesting project,” Marion says, “and it will be a great way for us to check in with each other, share our opinions (which UUs love to do) and tell stories of being Covid captives. I plan to set up meetings on different days of the week and at different times, and I’d love suggestions from participants about time and day that would work well for them. If you’re all like me, my schedule is relatively open. But I do have doctors’ appointments, other Zoom meetings, etc., so I’d appreciate guidance on when to set up meetings.