We meet virtually on the third Wednesday every other month to discuss books that expand our understanding of the world and deepen our empathy for the human experience.
Our selections help us grow — personally and in our work as humanitarians — as we explore new perspectives and better understand our neighbors.
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The Lost Year A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine
by Katherine Marsh
Thirteen-year-old Matthew is miserable. His journalist dad is stuck overseas indefinitely, and his mom has moved in his one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother to ride out the pandemic, adding to his stress and isolation.
But when Matthew finds a tattered black-and-white photo in his great-grandmother’s belongings, he discovers a clue to a hidden chapter of her past, one that will lead to a life-shattering family secret. Set in alternating timelines that connect the present-day to the 1930s and the US to the USSR, Katherine Marsh’s latest novel sheds fresh light on the Holodomor – the horrific famine that killed millions of Ukrainians, and which the Soviet government covered up for decades.
It’s a moving story about friendship, memory, and how the past can shape who we are today.
Date:March 18, 2026
Time:7:00 p.m. PST
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