I am writing a new work of fiction that takes place on the North Coast of Oregon. "The Mail Lady’s Confession" is a journey into old-growth forest, to a world beyond the edge of the Pacific Ocean, where grief, compassion, and joy are interwoven and hidden in the rings on the trunks of old trees. 

Since I was a small child, I have been fascinated with the Catholic Church. When I was six, I wanted to be like Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, and spend eternity with the angels and archangels. By the time I was twelve, I learned that the Catholic Church had demons among its ranks and did not always live according to the words expressed by Christ. I learned that the Catholic Church, under the leadership of Pope Pius XII, did not act to save Jews during the Second World War. As a matter of fact, the Vatican played a significant role in helping Nazi war criminals flee overseas in a secret escape network known as The Italian Ratline.

Get out there and stick up for yourself and the people in your community! Our feature this month is a quick primer in Civil Resistance.  Barbara Lloyd McMichael describes what happened this summer when she participated in her library’s annual reading program Book Bingo. Manny Frishberg writes about the Ngombor Community Development Alliance, a new organization with roots in the West Nile region of Uganda, that is helping to educate smallholder farmers and traders. While we’re on the topic of education, please see my book review on Brian Dillon’s Essayism On Form, Feeling, and Nonfiction. He is a writer’s writer who is a cut above all the rest of us. Even if you are not a writer, there is no harm in taking a glimpse at truly good writing. –Patricia Vaccarino