Hello and welcome to our first Friday Faces of the school year. What is Friday Faces, you may ask. Well, each year at Down Home we like to take the time to introduce you to the fabulous people that make up Team SLOCA (our staff and faculty). This year is going to look a little different from previous years. Friday Faces: Book Club will not be featuring our staff by their department, but rather by their summer read selection. (If you are new and needing some clarification about who does what, be sure to check our website where the staff is listed by department.)
Each summer the staff of SLOCA enjoys reading a book as a team. This summer, the staff were able to choose from 8 different books. SLOCA’s Executive and Visionary Director, Susie Theule, wrote to the staff at the beginning of the summer offering insight on why these particular books were chosen.
Summer 2020 bridges a gap between a year that ends with the chaos and challenges of a worldwide pandemic and a year that is likely to bring at least the same level of chaos and challenges due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and an election year. We have given much thought to what would be helpful and appropriate for our staff to read and focus on as we come into a year where humility, generosity, and kindness will be absolutely essential to the thriving of our community, where our willingness to listen, learn and self-reflect will be required. We desire the team to become more aware of our own selves and to become more aware of others. The summer choices invite us into this process with a variety of choices that will challenge us to self-reflect and/or enter into the stories of those with lives far different than our own. We have therefore selected a variety of books to choose from this summer.
Friday Faces: Book Club will feature one book each week and the Team SLOCA members who read that book. Learn about the staff as well as the text they read — win-win! Perhaps you’ll be inspired to pick up one or more of these books as well. If you’ve already read one, please join in the conversation and comment when we feature the book(s) you read. Below is a list of the books. (These books are available in the Den; click the link to read a description and/or purchase online. Stock is limited.)
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- Lila by Marilynne Robinson
- Insight by Tasha Eurich
- Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
- Apeirogon by Colum McCann
- The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday
To start us off, Susie, read all of the books, so we wanted to give you an opportunity to get to know her a little bit. Enjoy reading her answers to a few fun get-to-know-you questions.
What is your go-to reading spot?
I read in bed just about every night, so I suppose that is most consistent for me, but I love reading outside when I can! There is a spot that overlooks our backyard, and if I can get there around dusk, that is heaven. I also love to read at the beach to the sound of the waves, but only when it isn’t crowded!
What kind of car did you wish you had when you were a kid? What about now?
I really wanted a VW bug convertible for my first car. That didn’t happen (true to our Scandinavian roots, we purchased a practical, safer Toyota Corolla)! I don’t have my sights set on too much these days—my Mini Cooper is pretty fun to drive. I’m content. What I really wish is that I could drive it as fast as I wanted to on some lonely, windy, country road without getting caught!
What obscure thing are you talented at?
I’m pretty good at hanging pictures straight without a level— I know, very obscure. And I can bag a pile of groceries pretty fast and well—I got really good at that when my kids were little and I couldn’t wait to get out of the grocery store with them!
Thank you, Susie, for sharing with us!
Be sure to check back next week for another Friday Faces: Book Club.
