Kaleb

It’s difficult to express the joy this story gives given the extreme sadness that underpins it. The strength of the human will to survive, of love, and of community is so poignant.

Whether fiction or non, recognition of the powerful impact and courage of women throughout history is critical. This story makes me want to read more about the real heroines of the Packhorse Librarians and others who answered the call of the Works Progress Administration.

While a cynic as jaded as me should not be surprised by the disgusting apathy, shown by these dangerous elites, to the world-changing impacts of their choices, I was appalled! Sara Wynn-Williams is brave and credible. Her candour and confidence in Careless People is powerful.

I left the Facebook and Instagram platforms years ago because of the vitriol and lies the platform promoted, which I wrongly assumed were the result of incompetence rather than malice. Now, I wonder why it took me a full 14 years to grasp the willful inhumanity at work there.

Ever the skeptic, I wondered what embellishments might have made it into the book, but checking my cynicism against the indisputable reality of the power, influence, and control wielded by those involved I am reminded that the truth is dangerous enough for this whistleblower. The smallest lie would undermine the purpose of this release.

Many years after finishing the Aubry-Maturin series I had occasion to learn of another novel of Patrick O'Brian's, The Golden Ocean. Happily, Master O'Brian's excellence in storytelling was as powerfully wonderful in this as in so many of his other works.