Uncloistered

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  “She gazed ahead through a long reach of future days strung together like pearls in a rosary, every one like the others, and all smooth and flawless and innocent, and her heart went up in thankfulness. Outside was the fervid summer afternoon; the air was filled with the sounds of the busy harvest of men and birds and bees; there were halloos, metallic clatterings, sweet calls, and long hummings. Louisa sat, prayerfully numbering her days, like an uncloistered nun.” A New England Nun By Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1852–1930)

Finished Reading: Midnight in Chernobyl

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 Even before the nuclear facility at Chernobyl was built, it was a disaster waiting to happen, and once it happened, it just wouldn’t stop. It still hasn’t stopped. The explosion was the result of human error—but which human? And which error? Everyone played their Communist-party assigned roles and read from their scripts so well. This powerful, sleepless, relentless page-turning account perfectly mirrors the 2019 HBO limited series, and fills many gaps left by the show. It is the story of what happens when pride collides with fear under pressure and blooms into a mushroom cloud of lies. It’s the end of an era.



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