Evening Book Group

Day: Last Wed. of each month
Time:  7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Fireside Room | Manchester UMC
Leader: Emily Stiegemeyer

Description:  The Evening Book Group enjoys reading and discussing a book per month. Our discussions arise out of questions that are open-ended so everyone can bring their own perspectives. This group meets in person to discuss the book, as well as has fellowship. 

Upcoming Books:

Please register below so the discussion questions can be emailed to participants in advance.   

March 29, 2023

Book: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

Author: Jamie Ford

Description: Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living.

As Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help.

Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America.

As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories. Dorothy endeavors to break the cycle of pain and abandonment, to finally find peace for her daughter, and gain the love that has long been waiting, knowing she may pay the ultimate price.

Newcomers are always welcome!