Save Me ~ by Lisa Scottoline, 2011, fiction
Rose McKenna, makes a split-second decision that alters the course of her life — and makes you wonder what you would do in her shoes. Nobody could have foreseen what would happen the day that Rose McKenna volunteers as a lunch mom in the cafeteria of her daughter’s elementary school. Rose does it to keep a discreet eye on her third-grader, Melly, a sweet, if shy, child who was born with a facial birthmark that has become her own personal bull’s-eye. Melly has been targeted by the mean girl at their new school and gets bullied every day, placing Rose in a no-win position familiar to parents everywhere. Do we step in to protect our children when they need us, or does that make things worse? When the bully starts to tease Melly yet again. Rose is about to leap into action — but right then, the unthinkable happens. Rose finds herself in a nightmare, faced with an emergency decision that no mother should ever have to make. What she decides in that split second derails Rose’s life and jeopardizes everyone she holds dear, until she takes matters into her own hands and lays her life on the line to save her child, her family, her marriage — and herself.
Who Needs God ~ by Harold Kushner, 1989, religion
If you have lost faith or have never known it, or if you have ever wondered "What can religion offer?" here are wise and thoughtful answers. Rabbi Kushner addresses a critical issue in the lives of many: a spiritual hunger that no personal success can feed. He shows how religious commitment does have a place in our daily lives, filling a need for connection, joy, and community.
I ran across these two while re-shelving books yesterday in the Crown Center library. That second one reminds me that I also need to read and return a book by him that I borrowed from a friend:
When Children Ask About God: A Guide for Parents Who Don't Always Have All the Answers ~ by Harold Kushner, 1971, 1989.
