I love the feeling of curling up with a book that is so artfully written that the moment its last page is turned, you crave another chance to ponder the words inside.  That urge to close a book and let the words sit with you in silence— while also wanting to flip forward to the beginning to better understand those first few lines—is such a bittersweet delight for me.  I had yearned for a new book that would make me linger on every page, and I finally filled that desire with Toni Morrison’s A Mercy.  Her story about the disasters slavery causes was beautifully composed.  So many people have written more eloquently than I can about how powerful this book is.  And, like many people, I was mesmerized by the poetry of Morrison’s work.

However, the element of the book that most inspired me was the way Morrison suggested that any time you allow yourself to be owned completely by something or someone, you become a type of slave.  I viewed this book not just as a look at the historical implications of slavery, but also as a critique of a person not knowing his or her own self-worth.  It seemed as if Morrison warned that we all are at risk of becoming lost if we don’t own our individual power and sense of justice.  To look at the present through the lens of past atrocities reminds me that we all have to be vigilant to protect ourselves and others from becoming lost in the will of another.