This week I read About a Son: A Murder and A Father’s Search for Truth by David Whitehouse and it should be mandatory reading for anyone working with young men or in law enforcement and government. I was absolutely floored by this book. The honesty, the visceral grief and pain. And Colin and Sue’s seemingly unending quest for justice and accountability is incredible. It is not an easy read. It’s actually almost impossible to read more than a chapter or two without stopping for a breather, but I implore you to spend the time. They’ve earned the right for their story to be shared far and wide.
In 1994 when I was fifteen, my friend Eddie Polec was murdered. In the aftermath it was revealed that 911 had recieved a ton of calls about trouble and disturbances but downgraded all of them, so no help was sent. 911 didn’t recognise the huge cluster of calls that would have prevented his death. Eddie’s father reformed 911 in the wake of his loss. Colin’s work in the wake of Morgan’s death had so many similarities and resonated. Here is In Eddie's Name: One Family's Triumph over Tragedy.
After About a Son, I ended up grabbing Book Lovers by Emily Henry and reading it in one sitting. It’s predicatable and charming and I was entirely ready to get lost in it and loved it. It also brings me back to the fact that books aren’t always the problem, it’s often my state of mind that dictates if a book speaks to me or not. I really did not like You and Me on Vacation; and if I realised it had been written by the same person, might not have picked up Book Lovers. But on Thursday night, after a long long week, I barely slept as I didn’t want Book Lovers to end.
This week I am diving in to These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany, Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord and The Reluctant Carer which could have been written by my ex-boyfriend. What are you reading?
Also— not super relevant, but for about twelve years my Audible account has not been attached to my Amazon account. After meeting some of the Audible team at the Women’s Prize party, I was able to get it sorted with customer service. So now my recommendations will actually make sense and everything is in one place which may seem like a little thing, but I should have done it ages ago and am happy to have sorted.