Greek Lessons by Han Kang

 

  Soon after learning that Han Kang from South Korea was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, I searched her works. I selected Greek Lessons, a story about the bond between a woman who has lost her voice and a man who is gradually losing his eyesight. He will become totally blind due to an inherited condition.

 Imagine for a moment the relationship between two people in this situation. He is almost blind and she is mute. How do they communicate?

 The narrative is unconventional and unique in many ways. It is classified as a novel, but I think it belongs to the poetry genre. The plot of the novel is elusive. The author uses the interplay of metaphors, personifications, flashbacks, philosophical ideas and lyrical writing to explore the background of the two main characters in depth. 

 The chapters about the lady are narrated in third-person and the ones about the man are written in first-person. I think this was done on purpose. It conveys a message about the female character.

  “Even when she could talk, she’d always been soft spoken. It wasn’t an issue of vocal cords or lung capacity. She just didn’t like taking up space. Everyone occupies a certain amount of physical space according to their body mass, but voice travels far beyond that. She had no wish to disseminate her self.”

   The female character is a poet and a former teacher, but now she cannot teach anymore due to her condition. She has lost her voice and also the custody of her son.

    She meets the visually impaired man when she joins the Greek lessons that he offers at an institute in Seoul. During his childhood and youth, the man lived in Germany as an expat, and the study of Greek had been a refuge for him, a territory that other students found gruesome.

   Now the Greek lessons offer the setting that brings them together. Their vulnerabilities and fragility are naked, and their bond sprouts unexpectedly beyond the realm of words.

 Amid the grim circumstances of grief, two alienated human souls find each other.

 

 

“Deep-sea Forest”

 

We were lying side by side in the woods under the sea then.

In a place that had neither light nor sound.

 

You were not visible.

And I was not visible.

 

You did not make a sound.

And I did not make a sound.

 

Until you made a very small sound,

Until a tiny, frail bubble emerged

From between your lips,

We lay there.”

 

There are allusions to Jorge Luis Borges’s metaphors and life several times. Jorge Luis Borges was an Argentinian author who also lost his eyesight. I appreciate how some of her metaphors echo Borges’s reflections.

 

  You can watch this video to learn more about the author:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_dLqhhkHOM

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

 

  I needed to take a break from reality on the night of November 6, 2024, so right after dinner I immersed myself in Octavia Butler’s book. But life has a way of playing tricks on me. When I reached page 25, I was shocked to read that the main character, Lauren, had written a journal entry dated on Wednesday November 6, 2024. Yes, you’ve read that correctly. It was the same day of the week, date and year. I had trouble believing the coincidence of such a synchronicity.

  According to the journal entry, Mr. Donner had won the presidential election and he would dismantle environmental regulations and worker protection laws…

   I can’t believe I am writing this but… dystopias are not meant to be used as playbooks. They can be offered to relay the fruits of the author’s foresight to people who are confused and can’t evaluate the consequences of foolish actions and decisions.

  A dystopia takes us to a place where we do not want to go. Parable of the Sower dares to do that.

  What happens when people choose vulgarity and hatred over empathy and common sense?

  What happens when a climate crisis is blatantly ignored and not addressed?

  What happens when the truth does not matter anymore?

  To know the answers to these questions, you can read Parable of the Sower. Octavia Butler delves into the context well. It is like going back to the Middle Ages, but with a climate crisis on top of it. It is unsettling and disturbing. Read it and pass it on to those who still believe in the power of books. It is a story of survival amid dark life circumstances. It is riveting, fascinating and very unpleasant. I am still reading it…

  I can’t believe she published this book in 1993. Octavia Butler was a genius. I can’t figure out why this book is not as widely read as Farenheit 451. Perhaps it is because the author is a woman of color and not a white man.

 The setting is so vivid and terrifying: you can see with clarity how far misogyny, hatred and racism can go; in this reality, people do not even have the privilege of whining about high gasoline prices anymore, because they don’t have enough clean water to drink and keep themselves clean.

  Octavia Butler won several awards, and you can read about her life and accomplishments here:

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/octavia-estelle-butler

 https://grist.org/culture/octavia-butlers-1993-parable-of-the-sower-predicted-climate-reality/

   I will end the post with the starting quote of her book:

“Prodigy is, at its essence, adaptability and persistent, positive obsession. Without persistence, what remains is an enthusiasm of the moment. Without adaptability, what remains may be channeled into destructive fanaticism. Without positive obsession, there is nothing at all.”

 

 

  Addendum to the post:

 I finally completed the read. It is a remarkable story that belongs to the speculative fiction genre. This novel provides the fertile soil to have fruitful discussions on several topics and issues that assail our modern societies. If you belong to a book club, I hope you will consider sharing it. I will continue thinking about it and reflecting on it. 

 It is interesting to point out that when the novel was first released in 1993, critics refused to accept it as speculative fiction. They believed it was a book of science fiction.

  The novel is now accepted as speculative fiction; it has become a best-seller.

 

 

Bird Brain: An Exploration of Avian Intelligence by Nathan Emery

 

   If somebody calls you a “birdbrain," feel free to take is as a compliment, because the derogatory use of the word “birdbrain” is outdated. Scientists now know that birds are very intelligent.  

   Nathan Emery is a bird researcher, and his book Bird Brain debunks the myth that birds are dumb. It is, indeed, dumb to believe that birds are simple automatons responding to instincts. As a keen observer of birds, the insightful information in Emery’s book did not surprise me, but it may help to transform the perspective of people who never take the time to pay attention to birds’ subtle behaviors. Seriously, how can anybody believe that birds lack intelligence?

 “Some birds display great feats of memory, recalling the location of thousands of different items, even after long intervals. They travel some of the longest unaided distances of any animals on the planet.”

 Birds may not have a human language, but this does not mean that they do not know how to communicate.

 “Birds communicate their intentions using visual signals and recognize what others are looking at, even when hidden from view. Their vocal communication shares traits with human language. Birds are social, yet the pair bond is at the heart of their society. Birds form intense long-lasting relationships with others and can remember friends and enemies. They cooperate, share food to curry favors, and help to support one another.” Specific experiments have shown that birds understand mathematical concepts. Emery shares some of those experiments.

 

Birds and tools

  Did you know that some birds use tools? “Some birds use different tools for different jobs, and stick to the same tool that their peers use, displaying something akin to culture. They create tools to solve novel problems, perhaps using insight.” Birds can plan ahead and store food. To learn more about how some birds resort to the use of tools, read Bird Brain. 

 

  The impressive photographs enhance the reading experience. Bird Brain also contains diagrams and drawings to make the information clear. One drawing I enjoyed was the one about the structure of a birds’ brain, where you can see the different parts of a bird’s brain and then read about their functions.

   The memory of birds

  It is not surprising to me that “birds remember specific events in their past, what happened, where and when, and use these memories to plan for their future. Because some birds respond to hidden marks on their bodies in the presence of a mirror, they may even be self-aware.”

  If you have a backyard, don’t forget to leave some clean water for them on a regular basis.

  There is still so much we need to learn about birds, so go ahead. Open your window and look out. You don’t need to go far away. Embrace the chance to learn and appreciate birds.

  Welcome their experience and observe them with fresh eyes.

 There is a world of opportunities to get to know them. And those who are stuck in the past using the word “birdbrain” to denigrate others… well, there is no hope for them unless they choose to educate themselves, and that is a personal choice, as far as I know.

 

    If you enjoyed this post, feel free to read my writing on the following books:

     Deer Man by Geoffroy Delorme

     Birding to Change the World by Trish O' Kane

 

 

Interview with Natalie Jacobsen

 

 Natalie Jacobsen is an award-winning journalist and writer based in Washington, D.C. She is originally from Oregon and lived for six years in Japan, where she wrote and photographed for magazines, television and music studios.

 Natalie is the author of Ghost Train, a novel based on true events. The story is set in the summer of 1877 in Kyoto, during the last Samurai Rebellion.

Julia: What inspired you to write Ghost Train? What is the book about?

 Natalie: I studied Japanese history and media in college, and became enraptured by the amount of folklore that was born from the Meiji Era. With the influx of introduced technologies and Western ideals, Japanese society was turned upside-down; and folklore was often used to explain the unexplainable. One of the most interesting mysteries was around trains themselves – “ghost trains” were a real concept in 1877 Japan. Train conductors would work long hours, driving trains into the night in desolate areas. When they were sleep-deprived, they were prone to seeing hallucinations; often which took the shape of phantom trains (similar phenomenon have been recorded among long-distance semi-truck drivers). But my book asks: what if those ghosts were real? What are the repercussions? Where did they come from? And what do these ghosts want?

It’s also a metaphor: how does society react when there is a new invention or import of another cultural concept? How does it affect our identity? Do we mourn and grieve what was, or do we embrace the future? The story touches on many existential concepts, portrayed through each of the characters who are living through and witnessing these rapid changes to their own country.

 

Julia: What kind of research did you do to write it?

Natalie: So much! I had a great deal of background in the context of Japanese history and firsthand experience in Japan; I was constantly taking photos and able to comb through those to make sure I was describing places correctly and even conveying the light at the time of day accurately. But there’s more to writing historical fiction than knowing an overview of history. I needed to really understand the myriads of perspectives that would’ve been held during that time – between different classes, sexes, regions, professions, and educational background. And since I didn’t embody each of those perspectives, I needed to do research.

I read nearly 3000 firsthand accounts, documents of recorded history, and essays on the time period. I interviewed a dozen historians and subject matter experts to understand nuances of the time period and civilian life, and get details on particular niche areas that weren’t widely shared – like astrology that geisha would’ve known and advised clients on, types of kimono prints between different classes, and even architectural differences between Shinto and Buddhist shrines and temples. The research was half the fun!

 

 Julia: What sets your book apart from others in the genre?

 Natalie: The thing about Ghost Train is it has a touch of almost every genre under the sun, save for Romance. First and foremost, it’s a historical fiction. The amount of research that went into it compares to a student writing a thesis, or educators compiling an academic book, or a journalist doing a long-form investigative report. But Ghost Train also includes the supernatural and paranormal – things you don’t normally see in a Historical Fiction.

  I tied in ghosts and demons into an otherwise grounded historical fiction primarily because of how Japanese perceive and talk about folklore in their own culture: in many instances, these stories are sometimes seen as fact, not as fiction. Yes, demons can be pranksters and silly, and ghosts are considered unprovable entities. Yet, in Japan, they’re seen as synonymous with life, so I wanted to genuinely write about them as if they were real – and that’s not something normally included in a true historical fiction.

 

   Julia: How does the book connect with your life? Did any personal experiences influence your writing?

 Natalie: Surprisingly, there are a number of parallels between 1877 and 2024. We are living in a technology and information age, with globalization spurring so much change every day. Each day we grapple with new information and combat misinformation, we deal with connection and conflict, and progress and hurdles that hinder us toward it. We just experienced the global pandemic from the COVID-19 outbreak, and in 1877, Japan was dealing with a number of cholera outbreaks after Europeans arrived in droves to help install their new technologies. The amount of information Japanese were receiving and processing on a daily basis was immense; it was stripping down their culture and reshaping it for a modern era.

   In some ways today we could relate to their struggles, shock, and situations from 1877, and, there are a lot of emotions we would share, both individually and collectively, as a result. We all have different perceptions on what’s happening around us, and react differently. In 1877, people were no different. People were apprehensive or welcoming, skeptical or afraid, curious and excited. It’s just like us today, when something new is introduced or challenged, so I harnessed my own emotional experiences and wove them into this story, imagining what a civilian would’ve seen and felt during that tumultuous time.

 

Julia: What is the main purpose of the book? Is there something else that you would like to share?

Natalie: The story was intended to examine the process of progress; who does it affect, and what are the societal, philosophical, and emotional conflicts that come with it? It’s neither an argument for or against progress; it’s more of an examination and snapshot of what one civilian’s life might have been like during such a rapidly-advancing time for Japan. Many cultures and countries can relate to the upheavals, so the story is also meant to demonstrate how connected we all are, and how similar we can be when we experience changes. Humans are not so different from one another, even if we speak different languages or live halfway around the world.

 

 Julia: What kinds of books do you enjoy reading? Did they have any influence in your writing?

Natalie: Unsurprisingly, I love reading historical fiction. I love reading to learn. The first books that influenced that love were the Little House on the Prairie series, which many will say felt long in some parts and included details about how to make furniture or cure meat. Growing up, that was fascinating. It made learning history so much more interesting when I could follow a character and immerse in their world, so I wanted to capture that magic and impart some teachings to my own readers.

 Ghost Train was released in October. You can learn more about Natalie Jacobsen and her background by visiting her website:

                                                 https://www.najacobsen.com/

 

Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar

  

  It was emotionally difficult to read this book. Mario Escobar turned the true-life story of Helene Hannemann into a personal diary he imagined she could have written had she had the means to do so.

   When we read what millions of families endured during the Holocaust as a result of Hitler’s abuse of power and rage, the small moments of one’s life acquire a new dimension of greatness.

  Mario Escobar imagined that Helene’s Hannemann last words on her diary were the following:

  “Blessed daily life, may nothing break you, nothing wound you, nothing deny your beauty and the sweet strokes you paint in our souls.” Soon she would walk toward her death while singing a lullaby to her children. 

  Despite the lessons of history, humanity is still assailed by the monsters of hatred. Humanity still faces the abuse of power of dictators who have no respect for life while claiming otherwise.

 Helene Hannemann

  You may wonder who Helene Hannemann was. She was a German woman who married a man considered to belong to a different race. Unlike her family, Helene was considered a “purebreed” by the Nazis, so for a while her family was spared. Her husband, Johann, was Romani, but the Germans used the word Gypsy or tzigane to refer to him. His entire family had been deported to Poland, and they had never heard from them again.

  Johann was a violin virtuoso. He had played for years in the Berlin Philharmonic, but since 1936, the restrictions against everyone who did not fit into the Nazi Party’s social laws had grown much harsher.

  Helene was a nurse. She was heading to work one day, when the German Police showed up to take her children and her husband away from her. Helene Hannemann refused to separate from them, so she was taken too.  

 Their destination would be Auschwitz. Fiercely protective of her five children and of those around them, Helene had to endure the deprivations and violence of a place whose conditions had been created by the evils of hatred.

  Scapegoating and hatred fueled deportations, family separations, forced labor, and torture. Hitler convinced the Germans that he would get rid of people who were like “vermin.” Hitler said they were poisoning German blood.

  Helene’s husband was forced to separate from Helene and their children. They had to join different concentration camps. 

 The Nazis liked to tear families apart.

 Jewish people, Gypsies, gays, and dissidents were imprisoned. 

 The Nazis considered that people with disabilities were a burden to society, so they murdered them systematically.

  The Nazis claimed to be fighting against communism. Hitler and his Nazi followers used “patriotic” emotions to justify their evil behaviors and persecuted those who disagreed with them. Hate crimes were common under Hitler’s authoritarian regime. His dictatorship was fueled by the hatred and distrust he promoted through his speeches and lies.

  Under Hitler’s influence German people followed a pattern of bullying against those who were different. The hostility toward Jews and other groups of people led to the formation of concentration camps where people were starved and abused. The groups of people mentioned above were imprisoned and/or enslaved to serve Hitler’s regime. Hitler referred to them as “vermin.”

  The SS officers tried to create a sense of false reassurance among the Gypsy people at times by making them believe that Hitler’s goal was to fight against communism, and that Gypsies would be treated differently.

 

 The nursery school at the Gypsy camp

  Due to her German ethnicity, Helene was given some privileges. At Mengele’s request, she committed herself to organizing a nursery school at one of the Gypsy camps. This special task enabled her to deal with the suffering and empowered her to give others hope despite the shortage of food, water and the lack of sanitation. The people were tormented by diseases and had to endure the extremes of temperature. They knew the Nazis would not hesitate to murder them if they became sick. They lived under the threat of being taken away to be murdered.

 Helene managed to create a space of comfort and love for the children amid the devastating conditions of the camp. This nursery school was open from May 1943 through August 1944. At least 22,000 thousand Gypsies were slaughtered by the Nazis. Six million Jews perished during the Holocaust.

  The cruelty of the Nazis never extinguished the light of Helene’s bravery and love. Till the last moment of her life, Helene was able to sustain the forces of hope and love for her family and the prisoners with whom she had to interact.

  Helene even said she would refuse to hate her enemies because by succumbing to hate, she would resemble them; she did not want to turn into a monster. Therefore, she chose to hold onto her dignity instead. This choice requires inner strength and resilience, but it also takes courage. 

  I dare say this choice relies on a kind of intelligence that bullies lack.

  Her courage made Josef Mengele uncomfortable. It made him doubt himself.

   The only Holocaust survivor from this book was Elisabeth Guttenberger, a Jewish woman who may have provided details for the story.

 

Nazis and the treatment of women

  Nazis wanted women to be obedient and follow commands without questioning anything. They wanted German women to marry and have many children, so the Nazis banned abortion and contraception in German women. It goes without saying that banning abortion had nothing to do with honoring life. It has been associated with a desire to control and manipulate women’s lives. This is a clear feature of their ideology. Mark Robinson, a MAGA Republican who labeled himself as a “black Nazi” admitted that he had paid for his girlfriend to have an abortion in the past. Yet he fiercely supported banning abortion without any exceptions. Similarly, Donald Trump has complimented Hitler’s regime by saying that “Hitler did a lot of good things.” In fact, his ex-wife Ivana reported in 1990 that Donald Trump kept a book of Hitler’s collected speeches in his bedside cabinet.Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that Donald Trump and Vance spread so many false rumors to vilify immigrants and stoke hate. This is what Adolf Hitler did. Trump simply follows his playbook. 

 Research has shown that immigrants in America are less likely to commit crimes. Extensive research shows that immigration does NOT lead to more crime. Yet Trump and Vance keep repeating a false narrative to ignite hate toward immigrants.

   Hitler  knew that if he repeated a lie several times, people would eventually start to believe it. Trump and Vance follow Hitler’s strategy. Strangely enough, some of his fans are eager to believe and swallow anything that comes out of Trump’s mouth. (Some of those followers were even happy to swallow disinfectant during the pandemic to treat COVID because it was Trump’s suggestion). Again, I am not joking. This happened during Trump’s presidency and you can verify the information here.

  Like Hitler, Trump has referred to his opponents as “communists” and “vermin.” Like Hitler, he insists that migrants are "poisoning the blood of our country."

 The truth is that Hitler was nothing but a very insecure man; he was just a coward. Do I need to say more?

  When the government forces itself into the private realm of women’s healthcare, it follows the Nazi ideology, which viewed women as walking incubators and objects to be used for sexual pleasure. There is no genuine concern for their health and safety. Trump’s presidency had devastating consequences for women because it led to the overturning of Roe v Wade. In states with abortion restrictions maternal mortality is higher. This is a fact.

 Amber Thurman and Candi Miller are examples of women who died as a consequence of overturning Roe v Wade, a change facilitated by Trump through his choice of judges for the Supreme Court. Trump took credit for overturning Roe v Wade, and said he was proud of it… how can anybody support a convicted felon who is proud of letting the government meddle with women’s healthcare? It is incomprehensible to me. The next step will be to scapegoat healthcare professionals because Trump’s strategy is to scapegoat and ignore facts. He lies continuously. How can anybody even believe that he supports freedom and ethical values?

 Let’s hope that history serves an important purpose: to learn from the past and avoid making the same mistakes.

 

Conclusion

 Auschwitz Lullaby shows what the worst of humanity can do. It can be used as a warning. It is a wake-up call to choose human dignity instead of hate. Helene’s life is an example of that. 

 I liked The Librarian of Auschwitz even more than this one, but I think both books can help us to understand the dangers of empowering a bully. Reading these books is an immersive experience. It is effective in exposing the horrors of the Holocaust.

  It is going to be a year since the horrifying terrorist attack by Hamas took place. The fact that some people have justified this brutality shocks me, but it also helps me to understand that there are people out there who are okay with Nazi strategies and tactics. There are also those who choose to deny the Holocaust of October 7. They deny the rapes and the atrocities committed by Hamas, but their denial does not wipe out the truth. The suffering it has caused will not be forgotten. The repercussions of that massacre continue to haunt the world, triggering more wars and violence.

 Those of us who believe in democracy and human rights will continue to speak up against atrocities and vote for candidates who oppose bullies.

  Let’s not forget the hostages and the struggles of the families honoring their loves ones while trying to seek justice. I cannot even start to imagine the desperation of being in such a situation. I am sharing a recent speech by Noa Tishby here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmUSIeL7ZUo&rco=1

 

 

Supplementary links:

 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/data-shows-migrants-taking-black-jobs-hispanic-jobs-114741798

https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/controlling-everyday-life/women/

 

https://www.auschwitz.org/en/history/categories-of-prisoners/sinti-and-roma-in-auschwitz/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/10659129221111081

https://cambridgeblog.org/2023/03/hitler-did-a-lot-of-good-things-trump-and-the-us-rehabilitation-of-nazism/

https://siepr.stanford.edu/news/mythical-tie-between-immigration-and-crime

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/donald-trump-gives-supporters-the-green-light-to-blame-jews-if-he-loses-in-november

https://forward.com/fast-forward/615880/donald-trump-hitler-nazi-references/

https://sph.tulane.edu/study-finds-higher-maternal-mortality-rates-states-more-abortion-restrictions

https://www.mediamatters.org/abc/new-analysis-shows-no-migrant-surge-or-border-crisis-heres-how-often-broadcast-news-has-said

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/17/politics/kfile-mark-robinson-abortion-ban-no-exceptions/index.html

https://antisemitism.adl.org/

https://rsf.org/en/free-narges-coalition-calls-urgent-release-narges-mohammadi-ahead-iran-s-address-united-nations

 Mario Escobar has a licentiate’s degree in history and an advanced studies diploma in modern history. He has written numerous books about the Inquisition, the Catholic Church, the age of the Protestant Reformation, and religious sects.

 If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to read my reviews on the following books:

Women Heroes of World War II

 The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

Life Went on Anyway by Oleg Sentsov

Israel by Noa Tishby

 

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

 

 A few weeks ago, I received an email from PEN America informing me that Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult had been banned in some places. The notification piqued my curiosity, so I requested the book from my local library. In the story there is a school shooting in which several people die. However, the book is not about gun legislation. The novel focuses on an issue that is often neglected: bullying.

  After reading the beginning of the novel, I wondered if I would be motivated enough to finish it. Why? The reason for my skepticism was that the behaviors of the teenagers showed an astounding degree of shallowness and frivolity. Their relationships were superficial and devoid of empathy and curiosity about the world around them. Their purpose was to be popular and to denigrate those who were different from them.

 The teenagers at Sterling High School behave in ways that follow a tyrannical set of social hierarchies in which a few students are considered "popular" and of higher status, and the ones who do not fit in are abused and treated with disrespect and contempt. Bullying is normalized as part of this “culture.”

   My thirst for justice along with Jodi Picoult’s captivating writing style held my interest, so I finished the read with a flow of reflections and the motivation to research the topic of bullying further, to support those who are trapped in this horrifying pattern. 

   My thirst for justice was not quenched when I reached the end of the novel. 

  The read left me with a sense of hopelessness.

  Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes deserves attention and can be used to share honest discussions on the issue of bullying in schools and everywhere.

  Peter Houghton was only five years old when he became the target of school bullies, on his first day of kindergarten. It was heartbreaking to learn that his Superman lunch box was thrown out the school bus window. No adult cared to intervene to help him. Peter was bullied on a daily basis for many years:

 “From that first day in kindergarten, Peter experienced a daily barrage of taunting, tormenting, threatening and bullying. This child had been stuffed into lockers, had his head shoved into toilets. He had been tripped and punched and kicked. He had a private email spammed out to an entire school. He’s had his pants pulled down in the middle of the school cafeteria. Peter’s reality was a world where, no matter what he did—no matter how small and insignificant he made himself—he was still always the victim. And as a result, he started to turn into an alternate world: one created by himself in the safety of HTML code. Peter set up his own website, created video games and filled them with the kind of people he wished were surrounding him.”

  Somehow his creative skills and sensitive nature were not valued by the standards of the school he attended. 

   It was shocking to read how the parents of the teenagers portrayed in the novel were detached from their own children. The communication between parents and teenagers lacked authenticity. It was as superficial as the relationships with the teenagers’ school friends.

  The teenagers did not communicate with their parents in genuine ways; a false sense of independence appears to cloud the potential for honest conversations between parents and teenagers. Hiding away issues from their parents is considered an acceptable indicator of their sense of independence. This detachment stems from the false notion of providing that state of the so-called independence. It is used to excuse, ignore and/or condone all kinds of behaviors that taint their process of growth and maturation. Some of these teenagers become sexually active at age 15, drink alcohol, take drugs and/or resort to all kinds of senseless behaviors at school. In some cases, their parents seem to condone or ignore these behaviors; they even seem to consider them acceptable or inevitable.

  At school, these teenagers did not have any kind of guide on how to behave toward one another. In fact, the school environment resembled that of a prison. It reminded me of John Taylor Gatto’s book Dumbing us Down, which I read over ten years ago, in which he compared schools to prisons.

  The fact that school staff are complicit in the bullying or even choose to punish Peter when he defends himself and never advocate for him leaves a very distressing feeling in the reader.

    For example, the gym teacher has a very distorted view of bullying. Dusty Spears, the gym teacher at Sterling School, understands bullies and is on their side. He thinks that bullying is a normal part of growing up and that bullies are supposed to be rewarded. This is clearly stated on page 656 of the large print edition, “Dusty Spears understands kids like Drew Girard because he had once been one. The way he saw it, bullies either were good enough to get football scholarships to big ten schools, where they could make the business connections...”

  One of the main characters is Josie Cormier. Her behavior changes through the years. She used to be Peter’s best friend, but during her teenage years, her behavior shifts in unpredictable ways as a result of a toxic relationship with her boyfriend and her motivation to be one of the popular girls. She becomes the girlfriend of one of the most violent bullies: Matt Royston. The most disturbing aspect of their relationship is that he abuses her emotionally and even threatens her physically. Everybody thinks they have an ideal romantic relationship when this is not the case. Matt and Josie are sexually active and Josie’s mother appears to be okay with that.

  Picoult exposes the abuse of Josie by Matt Royston by showing it through various unsettling situations, but Picoult does little to discuss the matter openly through the characters in a direct way to avoid the normalization of such a toxic relationship. I feel this is a weakness of the book. 

  The relationship between Josie Cormier and Matt Royston calls for a thorough discussion about respect in romantic relationships.  I was expecting that would happen at some point, but it never happened. The way I see it, this void in the book requires the work of mentors, parents, teachers and counselors.

    I was hoping and expecting that Alex, Josie’s mother, would have an insightful conversation with Josie on this, and that there would be a reflection on the relationship that was masked as “love.”

  The book was published in 2007. Has bullying changed since then? Are schools doing more to address it?  As I researched the topic to write this blog post, I was shocked to find an endless list of children and teenagers who committed suicide after they had been bullied. You can check this link yourself to verify my statement:

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=cases+of+children+who+committed+suicide+after+being+bullied&ia=web

 If you come across people who underestimate and dismiss the serious effects of bullying, I encourage you to educate the deniers on the impact that bullying has. First of all, bullying is not a normal part of growing up. Bullying can lead to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other consequences. It can lead to suicidal ideation, and even suicide. It can rarely cause what Peter did. Peter followed the pressure of the social context in which he grew up and ended up doing what he did…

 There is a twist at the end of the novel that could have been fleshed out to shed light on the abusive relationship that Matt had with Josie, but not much is said about it.

  As explained in an article published by Frontiers in Public Health in 2019 bullying may include verbal hostility, teasing, physical violence and social exclusion, and the consequences of bullying can be severe:

 “Many studies have found that bullying is the root of severe negative psychological and physical consequences, including depression, anxiety, reduced self-esteem, decreased school attendance, somatization, as well as suicide, suicide ideation and attempts.” Some researchers claim that school bullying can cause symptoms such as those experienced by survivors of child maltreatment and abuse. It can even hamper bio-psycho-social growth.

 

 When bullying happens there is an imbalance of power between the perpetrator and victim, which can lead into a sense of helplessness and weakness. The pattern of bullying can undermine a victim’s sense of self and can cause short-term and long-term consequences.

 Why do bullies bully? They bully because they can. Lea Page says that it takes a village to make a bully… and it takes a village to stop one. Nineteen Minutes elucidates the roles that bystanders play in the social dynamics of bullying. I am now referring to those who witness the bullying without standing up to the bully. Some of the onlookers feel fear and guilt due to their own lack of response, so it is important to discuss this topic and to address it. Banning a book that deals with the topic is not the solution. Some bystanders celebrate the bully. They even support the bully and act in ways that perpetuate the pattern of bullying. I noticed that the “popular” girls had a positive attitude toward the revolting behaviors of Matt Royston and Drew Girard. They celebrated them.

When dangerous behaviors are normalized and celebrated, the pattern of bullying is established, creating an atmosphere where respect and kindness no longer matter.  

 In 2016 somebody said that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and his supporters would still support him. Take a moment to reflect on this comment. What does it imply? This comment was made by a presidential candidate: Donald Trump. It implies that violence is acceptable in the eyes of his supporters. It implies that as long as he is responsible for the violence, his supporters will condone it and normalize it. This is dangerous. How can we teach ethical behaviors to children and teenagers when a pattern is set to make it acceptable for a man to do this?  How is it acceptable to make him president?  There is no way we can live in a civilized society when we empower a bully. In fact, one of his own 2016 supporters even tried to shoot him recently, which proves my point. (What goes around, comes around).

  The girls who cheered Matt Royston are not different from the adult women who celebrate and support a bully trying to become president, so I can see a pattern that needs to be addressed, because the ways adults behave are not ignored by teenagers, and they will make a difference in the way we live our lives.

   I hope this blog post will be a helpful resource to raise awareness on the topic of bullying. Bullying awareness month is coming up, so this is an opportunity to work to both prevent and address bullying in schools and everywhere.

 

 Supplementary links:

 https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/what-you-need-know-about-school-violence-and-bullying

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/experimentations/202010/us-high-school-bullying-rates-arent-going-down

https://hr.nih.gov/working-nih/civil/national-bullying-awareness-month

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/daughter-bullied-school-adult-bystanders_n_664fcce1e4b058247fa22914#

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6465416/

 

https://time.com/4191598/donald-trump-says-he-could-shoot-somebody-and-not-lose-voters/

https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/23/politics/donald-trump-shoot-somebody-support/index.html

 https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/15-year-old-boy-cyberbullying-suicide-latin-school-chicago-lawsuit/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-child-died-suicide-online-game-cyberbullying-authorities-said-rcna129247

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adriana-kuch-new-jersey-online-attack-video-four-charged/

https://wsbt.com/news/operation-education/rio-allred-bully-anxiety-depression-suicide-behavior-prevention-cyber-bullying-report-schools-respond-rios-rainbow-elkhart-indiana

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, adapted by Monique Gray Smith

 

 “They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.”

 Dino Christalopoulos

   Sweetgrass is considered to be the hair of Mother Earth in Potawatomi culture, and to braid it is to show loving care for her well-being. Sweetgrass has medicinal properties and is traditionally used to make baskets. The fragrance of sweetgrass combines the sweetness of vanilla with the fresh scent of moist earth.

 The author writes, “I could hand you a braid of sweetgrass as thick and shining as the braid that hung down my grandmother’s back. But it is not mine to give, nor yours to take. Wingaashk belongs to herself.”

 As an educator, I want to recommend Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. This specific edition adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith contains questions that spark meaningful conversations, reflections and a wellspring of ideas to write essays.

   This book is an excellent resource to awaken an interest in how plants are woven into our cultures and how our connection with animals and plants can teach us how to share the world with others.

  I think the content of the book can be incorporated into the curriculum of science, literature and history, and I hope Braiding Sweetgrass will be translated into other languages, for it is an invaluable resource for high schoolers and teachers across the world.

   I hope every school library owns one of these books.

  The author is a plant scientist and a poet. Her writing style is irresistible, poetical and impeccable. Robin Wall Kimmerer had her writing published in scientific journals as well as literary ones. She is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is a distinguished professor of Environmental Biology and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the environment.

 Braiding Sweetgrass integrates history and scientific facts about plants and ecosystems. It also shares illustrated stories. Each chapter offers questions that induce readers to muse on our relationships and interactions with one another, Mother Earth and other living beings.

  Each chapter inspires readers to behold the world through fresh eyes, contemplate their surroundings with empathy and curiosity and make respectful choices that embody gratitude, reciprocity and the spirit of cooperation.

  There are many interesting facts and historical details that help us to understand that respect for the land is also about respecting and healing ourselves. In practical terms, her introspective narrative can bring awareness and lead to constructive solutions on many levels.

 It is time for economists to acknowledge that we should not ignore the limitations of a finite planet. The consequences of neglecting the ecological dimension of the financial challenges have a cost. She writes, “Ecological economists argue for reforms. They work to ground economics in ecological principles that are constrained by thermodynamics. If we want to maintain quality of life, they urge that we must sustain natural capital and ecosystem services.”

  I appreciate how she threads into her unpretentious prose the teachings and wisdom of the Potawatomi culture. For example, here’s a passage that illustrates this:

  “In Potawatomi and many other Indigenous languages, it is not possible to speak of living beings as it. Sure, we still have words for objects—desk, tractors, phone, but they do not describe anything living. Objects made by humans are inanimate.”  It is different from the way they refer to living beings. In Potawatomi culture they apply their own grammar of respect to living beings, which she refers to as the grammar of animacy. She expresses this clearly, “We use words to address the living world, just as we use for our family. Because they are our family.”

  She wonders if there is a way to bring animacy into the English Language. You can read page 12 for more details on her suggestions and her intention.

  The illustrations by Nicole Neidhart add a charming, amusing touch to the edition for young adults, and I’m sure they will inspire many students to express themselves through art as well.

 On Indigenous stories and why she chose to include them

“I am a listener and I have been listening to stories told around me for longer than I care to admit. I mean to honor my teachers by passing on the stories that they have passed on to me and have done my best to give credit to who and where these stories came from.”

  The book offers the opportunity to reflect at the crossroads we are now and to choose a path of collaboration.

  Separation from Mother Nature is a state of loneliness, a detachment from reality that compromises our health. We see it on a regular basis when we encounter the arrogance of those who deny the lifesaving nature of this connection, the fact that we exist as part of a whole. When we kill that sense of belonging from our awareness, we are deprived of health and harmony in the way we live our lives.

 Robin Wall Kimmerer describes this as a “species loneliness.” She writes, “It is a deep unnamed sadness stemming from separation from the rest of Creation, from the loss of relationship. As our human dominance of the world has grown, we have become more and more isolated.”

 Yet Mother Earth gives us the chance to heal our relationship with her. When you feel overwhelmed, take some time outdoors. Infuse the body with the fresh fragrance of the earth…

 “Recent research has shown that the smell of humus exerts a physiological effect on humans. Breathing in the scent of Mother Earth stimulates within us the production of serotonin. Serotonin is a brain chemical that plays a role in regulating mood and behavior.” 

  I disagree with the author when she attaches the label of “Western” to distorted views on nature, because she establishes a false dichotomy—Western versus Eastern-- that does not reflect the truth. The use of those labels is misleading. If these labels were reflective of the truth, we would not be witnessing the brutal slaughter of whales by the Japanese government, and Indonesia would not have destroyed seventy percent of its forests.

 There is work to do everywhere. Both the Western and Eastern worlds need to be part of this movement of solidarity and respect for the land and her creatures. On the other hand, the use of labels and generalizations leads to lack of accountability and a pattern of lazy thinking. It sows prejudices and divisive attitudes that refuse to welcome each individual as a unique contributor to the forest of life. 

  The strong foundation of the book lies in the precious teachings of the Honorable Harvest and the Thanksgiving address.

  I will be returning to Braiding Sweetgrass often to reread parts of it. This unique book transports the self to a setting of peace and harmony, a land of inspiration and reunion with one’s intuition and love for nature.

 

 To gain a better understanding on the need to incorporate ecological economics into mainstream economics, feel free to read this interview with Robert Costanza, en ecological economist:

 https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what-is-ecological-economics

 I found a more updated article by Robert Costanza, so I am sharing it here:

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/beyond-growth-eu-economy-gdp-sustainable-wellbeing/