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What started off as a book I struggled to get into became one of resilience and determination. The dual timeline narrative looks at Johnstown, PA, in 1889, around the time of the great flood (and one of the worst disasters in American history) and a modern day young woman learning about her bloodline. I especially liked the historical chapters! #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

BethM This was a solid read. Started slow but ended up really catching me. 3y

CaramelLunacy I almost always end up preferring the historical sections in dual timeline stories - am always eager to get back to them! 3y

megnews @CaramelLunacy me too. And I prefer dual timelines where both sections are historical than one being present day. 3y

Librarybelle @CaramelLunacy @megnews The historical pieces can be so eye opening and sometimes inspiring in that it makes me want to learn more about that time era. 3y

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Time for the #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead end of month discussion!

I have the questions under spoiler. Any overall comments, feel free to comment below (and tag anything spoiler that could be a spoiler, please).

Thanks for joining this month!

catebutler, kspenmoll, BethM, megnews, CoffeeNBooks, CarolineLovesToRead

megnews Thanks for hosting. I hadn‘t heard of this incident or the book and enjoyed reading it. I learned a lot. 3y

kspenmoll This was a fun read- thanks for hosting us! 3y

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6. In a society where men held all the positions of power, in what ways did the women of this story make a difference? ~from Reading Group Guide

#LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

megnews Elizabeth had empathy and compassion for those affected by this tragedy, frankly even before it occurred. From the time she knew about the possibility she tried to speak up. And when she had to decide between a life of comfort and doing what was right, she stayed to help. 3y

kspenmoll @megnews Agree with your assessment of Elizabeth. Lee learned to see herself as an independent woman & watched her Mom grow into that role with her grit & determination when left w nothing due to trusting her husband. 3y

Librarybelle @kspenmoll @megnews Both Elizabeth and Lee are strong, and even Valerie too. I like that Elizabeth realized her shortcomings and opened her eyes to how her lifestyle affected those who lived outside of the club. These women did not let anything stop them from finding the truth or righting a wrong or even just surviving. 3y

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One Glorious Ambition: The Compassionate Crusade of Dorothea Dix

5. Did Clara Barton become the historical figure she became because of her upbringing or in spite of it? ~from Reading Group Guide

#LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

megnews I think both. 3y

BethM I agree- both. Interesting bc I didn‘t know much about her either. 3y

megnews @bethm neither did I and I‘d love to read a historical fiction on her life. I see there are a few available. Going to look into that. I read one on Dorothea Dix‘s crusade to reform asylums awhile that was very good. It was a Christian fiction book

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kspenmoll @megnews such a great idea! I only know the basic information about her emerging from Civil War… 3y

CarolineLovesToRead I had not heard of her before. I would love to read more of her story 3y

Librarybelle @megnews @BethM @kspenmoll @CarolineLovesToRead I agree that both are true. I think more is coming out about Clara Barton and her work, especially since her DC office was recently rediscovered behind a wall. There is a nonfiction title about her work during the US Civil War that is on my to read list:

Clara Barton's Civil War: Between Bullet and Hospital

BethM @Librarybelle behind a wall?! 3y

Librarybelle @BethM Yes! If I remember correctly, it was walled in during a building renovation. When it was uncovered, it was like time stood still…everything was as it was left. 3y

megnews @kspenmoll @Librarybelle @BethM @CarolineLovesToRead I haven‘t read it yet and can‘t vouch for it but I see a historical novel based on Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton called

The Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton

kspenmoll @Librarybelle Behind a wall? That is wild! 3y

Librarybelle @kspenmoll It is! 3y

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4. How many similarities between Elizabeth Haberlin and Lee Parker can you name? ~from Reading Group Guide

#LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

kspenmoll I am thinking that they both chose to take ownership of their lives.Elizabeth by choosing to accept moral responsibility & stay to rebuild.Lee took ownership as she journeyed into her past,in order to find as much as she could about her self/history. Both faced these situations with courage. Neither gave up.Elizabeth lost her birth family when she did this.Lee lost her intact family when her Dad & brother left. Both had jewelry as talismans. (edited) 3y

Librarybelle I like that, @kspenmoll - they both took ownership of their lives. I agree too about the jewelry as talismans. They both played piano as well. I‘m so glad Lee felt a kinship with Elizabeth! 3y

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3. Should the members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club - essentially a timeshare - have been held legally accountable for the Johnstown disaster? ~from Reading Group Guide

#LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

megnews As selfish, cold, and callous as those who were aware of the problem were, I don‘t know that the individual members should be held legally responsible. Morally, yes. Someone should own the property correct? And failed to make repairs to ensure this wouldn‘t happen? Those people should have been held legally responsible. 3y

BethM I agree with @megnews but it seemed like it was a cohort ownership - like membership in the club meant ownership. I think the fact that they were successful with the act of god defense is nonsense. Interestingly none of the legal assessment reports on the dam were released until something like 2016- where it acknowledged it was not an act of god. 3y

megnews @BethM Exactly! The failure of a man made dam is not an act of God. I couldn‘t really figure out about the ownership but if that‘s the case, then yes all members should be held accountable legally. I‘d like to say they would be today but we all know money can get you out of just about anything. 3y

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kspenmoll I think they should not only be morally responsible, but legally as well. The group just walked away without thought or concern. 3y

CarolineLovesToRead I agree. Someone should have been held accountable. I don‘t quite understand why it took so long for information on this incident to be released 3y

Librarybelle @megnews @BethM @kspenmoll @CarolineLovesToRead It is so sad it took until 2016 for findings to come to light! Most of the club members‘ reputations in western PA, such as Pittsburgh, are not very positive. This is cited as one of the reasons. Between the club and his steel mills, Andrew Carnegie is not a beloved icon of Pittsburgh (I lived in Pitt for a year, and the things I heard about him…yikes!). 3y

BethM @CarolineLovesToRead I think it took so long to come to light bc there was a lot of generational wealth that probably suppressed it. 3y

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2. In what way, if any, do the events leading up to the Johnstown Flood resonate today? ~from Reading Group Guide #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

megnews I think Hurricane Katrina is another example of this. Man made levees caused by flaws and/or lack of upkeep caused a lot of death and destruction. 3y

megnews I think another example is gentrification. Wealthier people move in and create businesses, and long time members of the neighborhood are displaced. It‘s not the type of disaster seen here, but it is a slow destructive process. 3y

BethM Also I think you can see it in a lot of our disregard for nature. Oh we‘ll do xyz to the forests/ozone/ocean bc nothing bad will happen and if it does it‘s not our problem. 3y

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megnews @BethM true. I get so aggravated when I see another big box store being built when there‘s several empty right down the road! I think another example is using imminent domain to displace people. I know someone this happened to TWICE and they were only paid for half their land either time because that‘s all the jurisdiction wanted. 3y

kspenmoll I agree with everyone, but especially with all the natural disasters we have been facing lately. @megnews Hurricane Katrina definitely correlates with its engineering flaws. 3y

Librarybelle @megnews @BethM @kspenmoll Totally agree! History has a way of repeating itself… 3y

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