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  1. The New York Times CompanyCatherine Porter3/28/199 min
    13 reads7 comments
    7.8
    The New York Times Company
    13 reads
    7.8
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    • joanne5 years ago

      Creepy... the polar opposite of Heaven on Earth and loving ourselves unconditionally. Shame and degrading don’t work with the human condition yet so many religions still preach it either overtly or subliminally. It takes so long, if ever, to break free emotionally from all that condtioning.

    • Jkloundy5 years ago

      Hey kinda freaky about the name Taves, but double freaky....I know a Remple from Winnipeg! Crazy worlds colliding. Most likely no connection but very strange. Candidly, not sure this read is grabbing me like everyone else.... but a huge Francis McDormand fan so I’ll keep the radar on.

    • erica5 years ago

      "Toews (pronounced taves)" - that's what I always say about my last name! I love that there's a famous female author named Toews. And that she's a beautiful blonde Canadian with freedom as her guiding principal - total Joni Mitchell vibes. I have Mennonite roots, but I'm embarrassed to say I don't know much about the religion. My friend who I grew up with in LA, Lexi Plumer, also has Mennonite roots, and we "started a band" called Mennonite Madness. I wonder if I could get in touch with Miriam Toews. I'd have to read one of her books first. Honestly, I'm not that interested in books about religion, but I'm sure there's a lot more going on in her writing.

      • Pegeen
        Top reader this weekReading streakScoutScribe
        5 years ago

        I love knowing this about you Erica! Love the idea of Mennonite Madness!

    • Pegeen
      Top reader this weekReading streakScoutScribe
      5 years ago

      Wow, I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face. Each morning, when I sit drinking my coffee and reading an article on Readup, I’m exposed to new information that is expansive and fascinating. WOW, Miriam Toews’s story is mind blowing. I’ve heard of Mennonites but never knew a thing about them. Of course this sent me to Google and what a horror! I grew up in the Catholic faith, which I thought for sure had the rights to guilt, misogyny, patriarchy and fear. But next to this religion, it pales. I’m so glad that Toews was brought to my attention. Her book sounds intriguing and worth a read. I would love to see a movie made by Francis McDormand, as she is brilliant and would certainly do Toews book justice.

      • bill
        Top reader of all time
        5 years ago

        I had the same thoughts re: Francis McDormand. She’s beyond perfect for a project like this.

    • bill
      Top reader of all time
      5 years ago

      On the radio this morning I heard about some Mennonite named Toews and I knew it sounded vaguely familiar. Everyone's going bonkers over this book (The New Yorker, The Globe, Lauren Groff, Margaret Atwood) and reading the author's backstory just put me over the edge so I'm breaking my no-Amazon rule (a rule that's never actually gone in to effect anyway) to get my hands on "Women Talking" pronto. Excellent title. I can't wait to read this. I need something dark and messy and deeply f*cked-up to remind myself that the check engine light in my Ford F-250 (which I actually haven't seen in a few weeks) is a bonafide non-issue and that social media doesn't really kill people, it's people who kill people. Along those lines, I re-started The Diary of Anne Frank this morning before realizing that that's not the quite the itch I need to scratch right now.