The meeting will be held on TUESDAY, June 1st at 6:00 pm via Zoom. The book for our June meeting is Today We Go Home by Kelli Estes .
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We will discuss Estes' second novel which interweaves the stories of two women from different time periods. Today We Go Home features Larkin Bennett, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who is struggling with the gutting experience of losing her closest friend from her unit. Struggling to heal, Bennett discovers an unexpected treasure – the diary of Emily Wilson, a young woman who disguised herself as a man to fight for the Union in the Civil War. Bennet finds herself drawn deeply into Wilson's life and the secrets she kept.
Estes grew up in the dry lands of Eastern Washington and Arizona and now lives in the Seattle area. According to an interview with the Los Angeles Public Library, she plans to always live near the water!
Kirkus Reviews, a magazine known for being exactingly critical, offers these comments in its very positive review of Estes' novel: "Two women, separated by a century and a half, survive life in the United States military in Estes' suspenseful, neatly structured second novel. Although the historical dialogue is occasionally anachronistic (would anyone in the 1860s say, “Yeah, me too”?) and the contemporary dialogue is sometimes overloaded with facts about the past, both central characters are credible and well developed. They're surrounded by equally intriguing secondary characters. The novel brings the Civil War era to life and effectively links it to contemporary times."
Here are a few resources that might offer perspective on Estes and the historical events the book is built on:
1. Interview with the LA Public Library: https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/interview-author-kelli-estes
2. This website is a bit light weight, but descriptive about women in the military, historically and now. It is a website hosted by the United States Army so there is a bias, but I think the information is still useful: https://www.army.mil/women/profiles/
3. Information about female veterans' experience with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD): https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/type/trauma_female_veterans.asp#:~:text=How%20Many%20Women%20Veterans%20Have,(NVVRS)%20(4).
The book is available to borrow from a Pierce County Public Library book discussion kit that is at the Gig Harbor branch. You can request it online for pickup at the library (https://piercecounty.libnet.info/v/assets/186), request circulating copies for pick up at the library or request an electronic version through Libby (Overdrive app).
Finally, remember to register for the book discussion on the Pierce County Public Library website: https://calendar.piercecountylibrary.org/events
Use the two arrows on the top right of the calendar to get to June, click on June 1, scroll down to the event (last one in the list for that day) and click on register. Very easy to do and you get handy reminders!
We will continue to meet via Zoom until the Library is able to restore programming in the branches.
Pour yourself a glass of wine, a beer or a cup of tea and join in the fun.
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This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com