October's Middletown Book for Discussion: A Founding Mother, Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie (October 30)

 

The MUM Book Discussion group will next meet on Friday, October 30.  Our title is A Founding Mother by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. Here is a brief summary:

"A sweeping, intimate portrayal of Abigail Adams-wife of one president and mother to another-whose wit, willpower, and wisdom helped shape the fledgling republic. In the heart of revolutionary Boston, Abigail Adams raises her children amid riots, blockades, and the outbreak of war. While her husband, John Adams, rises from country lawyer to nation-builder, often away for years at a time, Abigail builds her own independence-managing their farm, making lucrative investments, amassing savings, battling plague and loss, and defending their home. Unafraid to speak her mind, she famously offers fearless political counsel, urging John to "remember the ladies" in the new government. From war-torn streets to the chandeliered halls of power, A Founding Mother is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her time-one whose voice, vision, and valor still resonate powerfully today." (publisher)

Here is where you can find the book:

• There are copies available from Miami, OhioLINK, and SearchOhio, all searchable and requestable from the Miami University Libraries Search catalog. You may also access SearchOhio through your local public library.
• Amazon has the paperback, Audible, and Kindle available, and Bookshop.org has links to purchase the title from independent booksellers.

Stephanie Dray will be speaking about the book on the Hamilton Campus on October 8 at 7:00pm (more details here) as part of the  MU Regionals Passport to Programming series for Fall 2026.

We will meet at 11:30am on the 30th both in Room 123 in the Library and on Zoom.  Join the Zoom here! 

Our group is always finding interesting titles to share, and we look forward to the new things you'll bring to the table. In addition to discussing Yesteryear, the group also shared these titles for consideration at their September 18 meeting:

• Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly, Marie Bostwick
• 11/22/63, Stephen King
• Educated, Tara Westover
• The Editor, Steven Rowley
• Theo of Golden, Allen Levi
• By Any Other Name, Erin Cotter
• The Paris Wife, Paula McLain
• The Last Mandarin, Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung
  
• Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church, Hahrie Han
• A Perfect Union, Catherine Allgor
• Dickens and Prince - Nick Hornby
• Buckeye, Patrick Ryan
• Crook Manifesto, Colson Whitehead

Please come along to our discussions to share what you've been reading/watching/listening to/experiencing!

If you're looking for something interesting to read, check out our page of past and future reads at http://www.mid.miamioh.edu/library/bookdiscussion.htm

John

"Abigail Adams" by Wally Gobetz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.