Host An Unforgettable Book Club Party

Elizabeth Gilbert was in her 30s when she realized the life she had made for herself was not the life she wanted. Dealing with divorce, depression and an unhealthy love affair, she plans a year long voyage to find those things that were missing in her life. She heads to Rome to experience the pleasures in life, India to learn about meditation and devotion and Bali to experience balance.

In 1990, Chris McCandless got in his Datsun and left everything behind – his real name, his family, his possessions and ventured into the wild. He traveled through the United States for almost two years, living as a vagabond, walking and hitchhiking towards his ultimate destination, Alaska.

He walked into the wilderness of Alaska in April 1992 with a .22 caliber rifle, a camera, a ten pound bag of rice and his books. He found shelter in an abandoned bus left from the 1960′s to shelter construction workers hired to upgrade The Stampede Trail. He hunted game and foraged for food using Tanaina Plantlore for guidance.

Chris McCandless did not make it out of the Alaskan wilderness. He left behind notes written in the side bars of his books, letters to people he met along his journey, writings on the walls of the bus and a camera. His writings and photos opened a window into the life of McCandless during his two years on the road.

Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick tells the story of the hardships of the pilgrims, from freezing weather, starvation and altercations with Natives.

The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo, originally a 1906 essay, gives a poetic history of tea and describes the art of the tea ceremony.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee tells the story of cancer from the first documented cases to the hopeful news that targeted therapy is on the horizon. Interspersed in the scientific data are personal stories of Siddhartha Mukherjee’s experiences as a clinician and researcher.

Three Cups of Tea is about one man’s determination to bring schools to the forgotten areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg Mortenson’s life work is to provide a balanced education to the children in these regions so they have an alternative to the extremist madrasas (schools) and to teach them skills to build their communities. This book is about his journey – from sleeping in his car and being kidnapped to the triumphs of seeing children become educated.

We Were Not Orphans: Stories from the Waco State Home will ignite emotional discussion. This book chronicles the first-hand accounts of those who grew up in the Home. “In these amazing stories, Texans who spent their youth in an institution for “dependent and neglected” children reveal both the positive outcomes and the horrific abuses that resulted when a government-run “home” was allowed to operate for decades without any public oversight.”

“The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina.”