Nourishing the Dream

It wasn’t until the early 70’s, around 71/72, when I learned about Dr. King and first heard his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, a speech that has stayed with me. I do believe when people of different faiths, religions, political affiliations, heritages, class, gender, skin color and any other social divide come together…as Dr. King dreamed… to “the table of brotherhood’, this perspective, his dream will be realized.

Year round, 365 days a year, I honor Dr. King’s dream by reading memoirs and recommending memoirs that move me. Memoirs, in general, are the best books that help us understand each other. Personally, I don’t always support the beliefs and actions of others, but place high value on knowing how people got to where they are, by knowing where they are coming from.

I’ve read many memoirs, many listed under my favorite’s tab I wanted to list below, but narrowed the list down to effectively highlight the best ‘diverse’ books that perfectly suit the occasion.

90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life by Don Piper
A Country Called Nigeria by Robert Siller
All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam by Bernard Edelman (Editor)
Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family by Condoleezza Rice
From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman
Gifted Hands by Ben Carson, M.D.
Healing After Dark by Morris A. Cohen and Helen Compton
Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge
Life is Short by Jennifer Arnold, MD, & Bill Klein
Life Is So Good by George Dawson, Richard Glaubman
Life on the Color Line by Gregory Howard Williams
Listen to the Squawking Chicken by Elaine Lui
Love in the Driest Season by Neely Tucker
A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
Mayor for Life by Marion Barry
My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King
Night by Elie Wiesel
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
On Call in Hell by Cdr. Richard Jadick
The Black Russian by Vladimir Alexandrov
Troublemaker by Leah Remini

#HonoringDr.King #CelebratingADream #ILOVEMEMOIRS #ReadMemoirs #WalkingtheTalk