Before Before: A Story of Discovery and Loss in Sierra Leone By Betsy Small (Sierra Leone, 1984-1987) University of Michigan Press: Law, Meaning and Violence series. Reviewer Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971-1973) Betsy Small’s Before Before offers a deeply personal and historically rich account of Sierra Leone, blending memoir and ethnography with emotional resonance. She draws from her Peace Corps service in mid-1980 and a return visit in 2013 with her daughter. This memoir is more than a recollection—it’s a meditation on cultural exchange, colonial legacies, and the fragile threads of memory that bind us across time and geography. Like […]
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Appalachia: A Tale Of Two Novels, The Million Mile Walker Dispatch, October Edition
Dear Colleagues and Fellow Writers from Around the World, I’ll focus on three books that have special relevance today. One was inspired by Charles Dickens, and the other by Mark Twain. Two of the books paint a contrasting portrait of Appalachia. The Culture Watch tells a story of gun violence in my hometown. What We’re Reading and Why will highlight a unique perspective of a classic tale, plus an updated Calendar. The Poisonwood Bible is one of my favorite books, as someone who has worked with missionaries and worked in Africa. But when I heard that Charles Dickens inspired […]
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