Dear Great Book Guru,  This Saturday, May 4 from 9am to 2pm, Sea Cliff’s Beautification Committee will be hosting its annual Plant Sale at St. Luke’s Church on Glen Avenue.  I always get the most beautiful plants there and all the proceeds go to making Sea Cliff’s parks even more beautiful. After the sale, I’ll have time for a good book- perhaps something about the environment?  SCBC Booster

Dear SCBC Booster,  I recently read AMITY AND PROSPERITY  by Eliza Griswold- winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction.   Amity and Prosperity are neighboring Pennsylvania towns,   bordering Appalachia.  Amity is a former steel mill town while Prosperity is a village long polluted by coal mining. Griswold uses the story of Stacey Hanley and her family to tell a tragic tale of industrial pollution, government neglect, and political corruption.  Hanley grew up in Amity and returned there to raise her two children.  Her home sat on top a mountain and the water was clean and wildlife and vegetation plentiful.  She needed money to build a barn so when a local energy company approached her with offers of bonuses and royalties if she were to lease her land for fracking, she quickly agreed. Shortly afterwards, her son became mysteriously ill, pets began to die, and black sludge spew from her water faucets.  The company denied responsibility, local officials refused to help, and the family had to abandon their home. A local husband wife law team took up her battle in the courts, but the outcome is far from satisfying. While this is the story of one family’s horrific misfortune, it is a cautionary tale for all of us.  Highly recommended!