quality literature: we are called to rise

We never know how high we are  
  Till we are called to rise;  
And then, if we are true to plan,  
  Our statures touch the skies—  

                                 - Emily Dickinson

"we are called to rise" by laura mcbride really resonated with me.  it reminded me quite a bit of "the bean trees" in that it dealt with quite a long list of social issues.  i really thought about why i was okay with that in this book and not in the other.  i realized that this book does not have the "us vs them" mentality.  it is a conglomeration of activists, individuals, and those in "the system" working together to help.  it seemed so much more hopeful that way.

“The way I see it, nothing in life is a rehearsal. It's not preparation for anything else. There's no getting ready for it. There's no waiting for the real part to begin.Not ever. Not even for the smallest child. This is it. And if you wait too long to figure that out, to figure out that we are the ones making the world, we are the ones to whom all the problems - and all the possibilities for grace - now fall, then you lose everything. Your only shot at the world.

I get that this one small life is all we have for whatever it is that we are going to do. And I want in.”

                                      -Roberta, "We Are Called to Rise"