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Listening is an Act of Love, A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project by Dave Isay. StoryCorps is among the most significant and far-reaching accomplishments of any Friends Seminary Alum. In addition to the many uplifting, heart wrenching and captivating stories in this volume, there is the bonus of a history of StoryCorps, how it came about and how it evolved. In case you are not familiar with StoryCorps, here are two links. One is an animation taken from a selection of stories in this book and one is a TED talk given by Dave. https://storycorps.org/animation/listening-is-an-act-of-love/ https://www.ted.com/talks/dave_isay_everyone_around_you_has_a_story_the_world_needs_to_hear Reading these stories feels a bit like eaves dropping, only in this case, the speakers know they will be overheard. They tell a friend or child or spouse or StoryCorps facilitator stories which are fundamental to who they are in a booth where they are recorded. One copy of the recording will go to the Library of Congress. Sometimes the stories have been hidden for decades. We learn that there is something extraordinary at the heart of ordinary life. I guarantee these stories will make you cry and also make you reconsider some of the negative thoughts you may have had about our species. Consider the bus driver whose elderly passenger tells him she is going to meet friends at a restaurant on City Island Avenue, but she doesn’t know which one. He takes the trouble to check out every restaurant and finally does find her friends. She tells him that she has been diagnosed with cancer, but that this is the best day of her life because he made her feel like Cinderella. Something I found remarkable was how these everyday citizens find vivid, haunting words to convey their feelings. A woman suffering the worst effects of chemo looks at her husband who has somehow miraculously managed to make her laugh. “. . . you were radiating love out of your face at me. It was like shining a light on me. I felt like I was looking into the sun.” Many of the stories concern the intersection of these lives with large historic events – World War II, Vietnam, the Civil Rights struggle, the AIDS epidemic, 9/11 and Katrina. History becomes very real when we see its impact on individuals. A real person saw a plane crash into the building where his fiancée worked, a healthcare worker struggled through days when water flowed into the hospital, a veteran of World War II still sees the face of the beautiful young German he was forced to kill, a mother tells her daughter of how she was denied the right to vote but still persisted. The events people encounter sometimes change the entire trajectory of their life. A woman who survived a plane crash reflects on the randomness of life. She cannot think that she was “meant to live” because what would that mean for those who died? Random things, good or bad, happen, but this book shows that what truly matters is the response of the human spirit and that, as the subtitle states, is worth celebrating.

More Light, Collected Masonic Writings 2017-2021 by Austin Shifrin. These thoughtful essays originally appeared in a Masonic periodical and touch on matters important not just to Masons but to the general reader curious about this oldest of fraternities. They reflect on issues of concern to everyone such as patriotism in these divided times, mortality, and tolerance. Having put down roots in the Pittsburgh area, Austin accepted an invitation and found a home, friendship and purpose in the Masonic community. While some of the themes are particular to Masons, others show a man using reason and heart to find connections between his newfound fraternity and the Judaism he was brought up in and still practices. The original masons who banded together centuries ago were actual brick layers, stone cutters and builders. This heritage still plays a role. In an essay on integrity, Austin notes how words from construction – words like crooked, upright, or on the level –have become embedded in common parlance as metaphors for ethical stances. An essay called “Where Two of Three are Gathered Together” discusses how meeting via zoom has changed our interactions. Austin tackles the question of what it means to be in shared space. Can cyberspace be sanctified in the same way that physical space is? In the course of this essay we learn that Austin belongs to the Tree of Life Synagogue, which we all remember underwent a horrific attack. As he develops his thought, he overcomes his skepticism about cyber meetings and suggests, harking back to the Masons’ origins , that perhaps he and his brothers have a new material for building. In the last entry in the book, “Presentation to the Squirrel Hill Historical Society,” Austin presents a comprehensive history of the fraternity, its various divisions, and how it has intersected with the history of the United States.Masons have long sought to make a contribution to society through philanthropy and through the gifts of time and talents.I see this book as Austin’s personal contribution. The reader will come away with new admiration for the efforts of Masons to better the world.

Conversations with People who Hate Me by Dylan Marron ’06. The internet came along too late for me. I use it, of course, to get information and to contact people, but when I encounter a book that is steeped in this alternate universe I begin to see the possibilities it offers. Dylan does podcasts (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a podcast) and because he takes a progressive stand, anonymous viewers say outlandish things – suggest that he kill himself or decapitate himself and suggest (strongly) that being gay is a sin. Dylan puts these comments in a Hate Folder. This book chronicles his attempts (often successful) to reach out to his detractors and to find ways to breach the great divide. This quest is riveting, funny, scary, gutsy, surprising, and illuminating. It goes through phases where he makes important discoveries. He learns from mistakes. He rebounds from setbacks. (Also, there’s a great riff on how Meeting for Worship at FS played a part). We all wonder how to relate to those who see the world very differently from ourselves. I hope I’m not giving too much away by saying that the answer lies in avoiding debate and instead engaging in conversation. Conversation permits Dylan and his haters (it is too strong a word, but what are you going to do – too much nuance and you won’t have any viewers) to see each other as human beings. How bad can a guy be if he has a dog named Cinnamon? Eventually Dylan begins facilitating conversations between others. He is willing to go places most would shy away from. A woman who is sexually assaulted finds herself called a liar by a stranger on the internet. I hope you will read about how that conversation and a subsequent one turned out. This book reveals a courageous experiment.My religion believes in the “inherent worth and dignity of every human being.”But everybody believes this in theory.By reaching out to his Hate Folder, Dylan has put into practice the hard part of this belief.