First review of Gather at the Table: "a great introduction to a shared past that ought to be better known"

First review of Gather at the Table: “a great introduction to a shared past that ought to be better known”

Posted August 1st, 2012 by Thomas Norman DeWolf

The first review of Gather at the Table was published today in Kirkus Reviews magazine.

Kirkus has been “an authoritative voice in book discovery” since 1933; reviewing “the most notable books being published” before they are released.

Kirkus Reviews describe themselves as “The World’s Toughest Book Critics.” Consequently, we are excited to share their very positive review:

An instructive journey of reconciliation.

DeWolf (Inheriting The Trade: A Northern Family Confronts its Legacy as the Largest Slave-Trading Dynasty in U.S. History, 2008) is a descendant of a family of slave traders; Morgan is the descendant of slaves. Together, they set out to discover how the shared legacies of violence and brutality continue to affect perpetrators and victims in every aspect of life. Starting with their respective family’s culture, food and entertainment, the authors attempted to better understand their differing emotions and reactions to slavery, racism and prejudice. Their project came together after they met in 2008 at the Coming to the Table program at Eastern Mennonite University and participated in programs like EMU’s Trauma Healing Journey. DeWolf describes how he discovered segregation in Alabama in 1970 as a member of a church choir. Morgan writes about the reception she was accorded when she was trying to organize a music festival Alabama’s Gulf Coast in 1994. As trust developed, the authors combined their skills to investigate both their families’ histories. Morgan’s genealogical expertise and her ability to glean pertinent information from old county records and tombstones were matched by the capabilities DeWolf had developed working on Inheriting the Trade. Between 2008 and 2011, the authors traveled more than 100,000 miles in 27 states, investigating old plantations and other loci of the slave trade.

The authors’ accomplishment stands on its own, but their book also serves as a great introduction to a shared past that ought to be better known.

10144 Comments »2012-08-01+13%3A37%3A33Thomas+Norman+DeWolf

4 Responses to “First review of Gather at the Table: “a great introduction to a shared past that ought to be better known””

Phoebe Kilby says:

August 1, 2012 at 7:17 am

Great review! Congratulations!

I forwarded it to Andrea Wenger, head of EMU's Marketing and Communications Department.

Reply
Gather at the Table | Book Jacket for Gather at the Table: well done, Beacon Press! says:

August 14, 2012 at 10:45 am

[...] peacebuilding professor John Paul Lederach, “the world’s toughest book critics” Kirkus Reviews, The Little Book of Trauma Healing author Carolyn Yoder, and co-founder of Growing a Global Heart, [...]

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Let’s Talk about Race: Acknowledge the Past, Heal the Present Jan. 26th at 2:00 p.m. | First Christian Church Pomona says:

January 8, 2013 at 8:49 pm

[...] as “an honest exploration into the deep social wounds left by racism, violence and injustice.” Kirkus Reviews wrote, “The authors’ accomplishment stands on its own, but their book also serves as a great [...]

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Gather at the Table: Meet the Authors Jan. 26th 2:00 p.m. | First Christian Church Pomona says:

January 8, 2013 at 8:51 pm

[...] as “an honest exploration into the deep social wounds left by racism, violence and injustice.” Kirkus Reviews wrote, “The authors’ accomplishment stands on its own, but their book also serves as a great [...]

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