Cross-Generational Book Club!

Anyone with teens knows that there are years which both parents and their youth walk into with trepidation. My family is exceedingly grateful to have a solid foundation for approaching potentially difficult years. Our relationships are rooted by books and conversation. We are eager to share our productive roots. Along with my daughter, Sky, I am excited to bring a cross-generational book club to Skylark.

I left it up to her to choose the material, and in the car last week, she settled on some titles. “The Handmaid’s Tale,” she said. Apparently, many of her peers have already read it, and there is a discussion lingering. With “The Testament” coming this fall, it leaves the door open for more than one meeting, so we propose a trio.

On August 7, we open the table to discuss “The Handmaid’s Tale.” We encourage parent/teen combos to join us, especially those seeking to open doorways to difficult conversations. Anyone else interested in joining us is also welcome. This is not exclusively for duos. We hope to facilitate some thoughtful and important conversations, ones that will continue in the future.

On September 4, we invite returning and new friends to join us in discussing two titles we find to be in a similar vein. “The Power” and “Vox” both tackle Atwoodian dystopias, and open doors to new topics. We hope you will join us once more on October 9, a month after “The Testaments” has come out to see where Atwood has taken us.

Our goals include fostering communication and facilitating difficult conversations. We have navigated life together with openness and freedom of thought and know that this does not always come easily. While we want to encourage this communication in the group, we also know that books and talking about books is one of the main reasons we find common ground as well as challenge one another. There is nothing like a book to bring about thoughtfulness, and we know that a book like “The Handmaid’s Tale” is going to encourage more than most. We look forward to seeing you, with a cross-generational family member or friend, or even by yourself! Bring your knowledge, your questions, and an open mind.

All discussions will start at 6:00 p.m.

Carrie