{"product_id":"this-is-how-it-begins-9781631523083","title":"This Is How It Begins","description":"One of \"5 more over 50\" writers to watch--Poets \u0026amp; Writers magazine 2018 LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST 2018 MAY SARTON WOMEN'S BOOK AWARD FINALIST WINNER, 2017 POETS \u0026amp; WRITERS MAUREEN EGEN WRITERS EXCHANGE AWARD \"Beautifully written ... an ambitious and moving debut novel.\" --LILY KING, award-winning national bestseller of \u003ci\u003eEuphoria\u003c\/i\u003e In 2009, eighty-five-year-old art professor Ludka Zeilonka gets drawn into a political firestorm when her grandson, Tommy, is among a group of gay Massachusetts teachers fired for allegedly discriminating against Christian kids in high school classrooms. The ensuing battle to reinstate the teachers raises the specter of Ludka's World War II past--a past she's spent a lifetime trying to forget. The firings are the brainchild of Warren Meck, a deeply religious local radio host and father of three who is hoping to pass a religious freedom bill in Massachusetts. Meck favors achieving his goals through careful planning and legislation, and is disturbed when violence erupts. His concern quickly turns to alarm when he realizes those within his inner circle might be inciting the violence. As Ludka's esteemed political family defends Tommy under increasingly vicious conditions, a stranger with connections to Ludka's past shows up and threatens to expose her for illegally hoarding a valuable painting presumed stolen by the Nazis. Only one other person knew about the painting--a man she's been trying to find for sixty years. Compulsively readable, \u003ci\u003eThis Is How It Begins\u003c\/i\u003e is a timely novel about free speech, religious freedom, the importance of empathy and the bitter consequences of long-buried secrets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e She Writes Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/03\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781631523083\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 399\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.90lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.90h x 5.20w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2017 pg. 27\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/26\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2017\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Joan Dempsey","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36663339221148,"sku":"9781631523083","price":14.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_79b15a7e-a6a4-44de-9756-2148a571d5ed.jpg?v=1603904075","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/this-is-how-it-begins-9781631523083","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}