Why keep your friendship hidden under a rock? I found these hilarious PB&J friendship necklace pendants on Etsy. Cherrydot from San Fran makes these and a bunch of other food related staples in a wearable fashion. A close runner up was the grilled cheese friendship necklace; maybe next time!
Step into the shoes of Margaret Werner, the only American woman to survive Stalin's gulag. I recommend reading this book on a gloomy, moody day; I guarantee you will feel grateful for your situation and your hopes will be revived. This book is tragic and triumphant. I always feel especially drawn to biographies and nonfiction accounts that track the ferocity of the human spirit. Karl Tobien, the author, is Margaret Werner's son. The authenticity and exemplary writing drew me in as I read this story. Prepare yourself to step into the life of Margaret as she strives to survive the Siberian death camps!
I have never been homeless. The closest I have ever come to being homeless is having a friend in college sleep in a cardboard box in Milwaukee just to see what it was like. This book by Mitchell Duneier made me feel as though I was directly interacting with a large group of homeless men and women. Some of them are homeless due to choice; others were there due to drugs. The ins and outs of street life in Greenwich Ave. in NYC are fascinating. It was even more meaningful when I visited the exact intersection the book highlights this past summer. I did not see the same people in the book, but I saw the same setup of tables that the book describes. So, go ahead and dive headfirst into a life that most people would never dream of.
