A book club in Seattle started 26 years ago by a group of women to celebrate African American writers is not only still going strong, the members just published their own book.
BookClub Seattle is composed of everyday women, all college educated, who have faced many of life ups and downs together.
Some of these women are now in their 60s, retired from the boardroom or the classroom, with grown children and grandchildren. They have shared decades of one another's challenges, joys, heartaches, laughter, and tears.
In 1999, they decided to write their own collection of short stories in a book they've titled "Life Matters" because they believe their lives do matter. Notice that they coined the phrase years before it became a rallying cry.
They spent years perfecting and trying to publish their manuscript, then decided they would publish it on their own. Eighteen years later, their award-winning book is on shelves at one their favorite stores, "Elliott Bay Books," and available on Amazon.
It is a book about their lives, their ideas, thoughts, fears, and dreams. Yes, some of the names have been changed to protect them from the law, and some of the stories are fiction. They cover civil rights, coming-of-age, career obstacles, vacation, family relations love and loss.
This is a sisterhood of brainpower -- a well of knowledge and an abundance of love that all began with a simple idea -- to celebrate the love of reading.
The BookClub Seattle is a true Northwest treasure.
