Available Boxes
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Available Boxes
New for 2022
Book | The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Film | Martha Hughes Cannon
In Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings, and KUED’s documentary, Martha Hughes Cannon, we meet three women who historically (and fictionally) pushed against established women’s spheres and lived in worlds of contrast. Sarah Grimke, a daughter of slave owners who became one of the first female abolitionists and women’s rights activists; her fictional slave, Hetty “Handful” Grimke, a masterful seamstress who expertly used her ingenuity and imagination to push boundaries; and Martha Hughes Cannon, a pioneering physician, suffragist, polygamist wife, and the first female state senator in Utah and the United States. Discover how these women navigated complex social, political, and religious structures and how they evoked change in spite of disappointment, loss, betrayal, and ostracism. Consider how these women's stories, their themes, and the abolitionist and women's rights movements impact us today. How do they influence our desire and ability to advocate for others and ourselves? How do we--and our present world--embody contrasts and contradictions? And how do we navigate complex social, political, and religious structures with personal integrity?
In Partnership With
New for 2022
Book | Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante
Film | The Gerda That Remains
The experience of memory loss is one that radically reshapes our sense of self, of worth, and of belonging in the world. It is also a common experience: more than 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year. This book club box engages with two very particular and vivid stories about dementia: a documentary film about a scholar of mathematics and literature, defined by her “life of mind,” who grapples with early onset dementia, and a novel’s fictional telling of a woman with dementia who tries to piece together clues about a friend’s death alongside increasingly fragmented memories of her own life. These texts raise profound questions: when our minds and capacities change significantly, are we still the same people we used to be? How can people with dementia gain access to pleasure and joy? What assumptions about an individual’s value or worth are built into discussions about dementia and end-of-life decisions? How might society need to change to provide necessary supports and the capacity to thrive to people with dementia?
In Partnership With
Book | A Zion Canyon Reader, edited by Nathan Waite and Reid Nielson
Film | Call of the Canyon: Zion National Park
For centuries, people have attempted to communicate what Zion Canyon means to them with symbols on rock and words on paper. The early explorers and scientists did a remarkable job of recording in words the flora, fauna, and human history of the area. But even they never set out into canyon country without illustrators, photographers, cartographers and fine artists in tow – to back up their words with amazing images.
Zion casts its spell on everyone who encounters it. Call of the Canyon: Zion National Park reveals how this place has inspired artists of all disciplines, serving as a muse for photographers, painters, authors, poets and musicians. A Zion Canyon Reader is an ideal companion for the film. It contains 29 excerpts of writing about Zion, covering the ethnohistory of the early inhabitants, the Euro-American explorers, and on through the history of the park’s creation, human impact, and the various ways we might all develop a sense of place in Zion.
Viewed, read, and discussed together, the film and the book create a wonderful landscape of understanding. The more we learn about Zion Canyon, the more vividly it’s magnificent landscape will take shape in our hearts, and the more we will be inclined to help ensure that generations yet unborn will experience the same joy and renewal we do when we visit Zion.
Watch Call of the Canyon: Zion National Park Film >
In Partnership With
Book | Finders Keepers by Craig Childs
Film | Battle Over Bears Ears
Who decides how land and history are preserved and protected? How do we keep our connection to the past alive? Bears Ears was established in December 2016 by President Obama using Antiquities Act of 1906 provisions granted to presidents to create national monuments for “protection of cultural and natural resources of historic or scientific interest on Federal lands.” A coalition of five Indian tribes that had sought monument protection for years were overjoyed with the decision. But joy was short-lived; less than a year later, President Trump issued a new declaration, segmenting the monument into small, isolated sections consisting of fewer than 200,000 acres, much smaller than the original designation of 1.2 million acres. This action, in turn, caused many San Juan residents to celebrate. Now, Utahns are feeling whip-lash effects as newly elected President Biden has sent his Interior Secretary to southern Utah to review the statues of Bears Ears with the prospects of yet another change. Your book club will dive deeply into a discussion about the ethics of archeologists and pot hunters, about whose voices should be heard, whose history should be saved, and what healing and common ground may be found in this land that is sacred to so many.
This film is available to stream exclusively to PBS Passport members, however a private link will be made available to book club hosts when your box is sent.
Watch Preview of Battle Over Bears Ears Film >
Book | The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
Film | Finding Home: Utah's Refugee Story
The current political discourse around immigration is divisive not only in America but worldwide. Both Bui’s story and Finding Home: Utah’s Refugee Story movingly puts a human face to new arrivals in our country, illuminating the background of their lives and their struggles. It explores immigration and the many effects it has on people who are displaced. Their stories address relatable universal struggles, including family sacrifices, difficulties in communication in a new country and between parents and children, personal failings, and the importance of identity and belonging. These stories remind us that we all share a common goal: to seek a better future for ourselves and our families. Refugees are not a statistic nor are they “the other” but part of our society as a whole. These stories prompt us to ponder what it means to be a refugee now in America. What hardships does a person suffer that force one to flee home for a better life in the United States and what is it like to assimilate in a new country when some of its citizens don’t want you here?
*This book is a graphic novel, appropriate for both teens and adults.
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