👶👶👶👶: Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19, by Jennifer Haupt and others

I just love an author with heart, and Jennifer Haupt certainly has one of the biggest hearts in the industry. I first encountered Ms. Haupt's talent when I read In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills in 2018 which focused on the Rwandan genocide and stories of "amahoro" (peace). As a former journalist, she was able to interview survivors of the brutality, which led her to pour her heart into creating that incredibly important novel - she stayed at it for the next eleven years after her visit to Rwanda in 2006. The result was breathtaking.

Fast forward to 2020, and Jennifer Haupt pours her heart into yet another valuable undertaking. She is acutely aware of what the pandemic's effects on the economy have done to independent booksellers, and devises a brilliant and compassionate plan to piece together an anthology to raise money for The Book Industry Charitable Foundation. She gathers 90 authors to create this work of art and determines that ALL profits will be donated to this cause!!!

When I heard about this, I was just astonished that her sole purpose in compiling this anthology was to help others who had helped her in the past. As she stated, "Long before the pandemic hit, independent bookstores were the pillars of a worldwide literary community and the mainstays of neighborhoods across the country...", and she is bound and determined to help them make it through this crisis.

So, I immersed myself into this melange of talent and found myself laughing, crying, and cheering right along with these fellow humans who had just undergone the same life-changing events we can all relate to: the effects of Covid-19. Whether the authors of these stories, poems, and interviews were transformed because of direct or indirect experiences with this virulent beast, each of them had something profound to share with those of us enduring the same pain and confusion.

Obviously, as any anthology would surely prove, there are some entries that hit home for some readers and not others, but within this treasure, you're bound to find many you love. As an added bonus, you may discover some new authors, just as I did!

So, mark your calendars for September 1st, when this book hits shelves, and make sure to buy a copy (or three) to support those who make our passion of reading possible!

Bravo again, Jennifer Haupt! What a joy it is to follow your work!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for gifting me with this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Read 7/20/20