Join Janet Ott the 1st Wednesday of each month (12:00-1:00pm).  Meetings are in the Readings Gallery.  Brown bag lunches are encouraged. 

(Authors do not usually attend VB Reads)

 July's Selection is The Story Factor (2nd Revised edition), by Annette Simmons.

A modern classic, revised and expanded:  How the age-old art of storytelling can transform the way we communicate and the way we do business.

On November 16, 1965, Beth Taylor's idyllic childhood was shattered at age 12 by her older brother’s suicide. Raised in an "intentional community" north of Philadelphia--a mix of farm village, hippie commune, and suburb--she and her siblings were instilled with nonconformist values and respect for the Quaker tradition. With the loss of her beloved sibling, Taylor began her complicated journey to understand family, loss, and faith.  Touching on the timely issues of bullying, child rearing, and non-conformity, as well as religious heritage, patriotism, and pacifism, Taylor offers a rare look at growing up Quaker in the tumultuous 1960s that shows the more sober side of the decade's counterculture.  Beth Taylor says that she learned many things from her childhood, in particular that history is alive--and shapes how we judge ourselves and choose to live our lives. She comes to see that grief can be a mask, a lover, and a teacher.  Beth Taylor teaches in the Nonfiction Writing Program at Brown University.