Authors Living In Mid-Atlantic Cohousing

Cohousing seems to attract activists and social justice advocates including authors, writers and ecostewards. We are featuring Rachel King who lives in Takoma Village.

Charles Dickens and Mark Twain did it. Now, Rachel King, a resident of Takoma Village Cohousing in Washington, DC is doing it. Doing what? "Serializing" a fictional work she's written for the on-line edition of the "Takoma Voice:" What makes this work of fiction extra special is that the main characters in the novel live in ... cohousing! Each Friday a new chapter of the work "Tales of the District" will be uploaded to the "Takoma Voice" literature blog. The novel is underway, but previous chapters are available to catch up.

Evoking the style of Dickens and Armistead Maupin, "Tales of the District" is an amusing, fast-moving story of three characters maneuvering through life in the nation's capitol in the post-September 11 political climate. The story explores themes of terrorism, sexuality, vegetarianism, the Democratic Party, and most importantly, what it means to be a family and live in community. Once you start reading it, you'll be hooked! And that's not all: you can post comments about the series on the blog where this work is being hosted. Cool, huh?

Please spread the word about Rachel's latest book. Read "Tales of the District" at http://www.takoma.com/lit

Rachels bio is at http://www.takoma.com/lit/2007/03/about_our_first_author.html

Don’t Kill in Our Name: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out Against the Death Penalty by Rachel King
Read the press release below.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
March 10, 2003

Rutgers University Press Announces the Publication of Don’t Kill in Our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out Against the Death Penalty

“The main reason I oppose the death penalty is because it dishonors Susie’s life. She had a sweet and gentle spirit. I don’t want that spirit dishonored by having her death avenged with more violence.”—Marietta Jaeger Lane, whose 7-year old daughter, Susie was kidnapped and murdered in 1973.

—from Don’t Kill in Our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out Against the Death Penalty

New Brunswick, N.J. – Would you oppose the death penalty for the murderer of your husband? Your mother? Your son?

Families of murder victims are often ardent and very public supporters of the death penalty. But the people whose stories appear in this book have chosen instead to oppose the death penalty for their loved ones’ murderers. Surviving the murder of their loved one has led them to understand that the death penalty does not serve their needs. For some, their journey has taken them on a path of forgiveness leading them to reach out to the killer and establish a relationship with him or her. Others have formed their own organizations to oppose the death penalty or promote restorative justice. All are members of a nationwide group, Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation (MVFR), whose mission is to end the use of the death penalty.

The people in this book are sometimes discounted as being either saints or lunatics, but they are, in fact, ordinary people who believe the death penalty is a form of social violence that only repeats and perpetuates the violence that claimed their loved ones’ lives.

In Don’t Kill in Our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out Against the Death Penalty (Publication date: February 14, 2003; 304 pp., 18 b&w illus.; Cloth, $27.00, 0-8135-3182-9) Rachel King weaves third-person narrative with wrenching first-hand accounts, presenting the stories of ten family members. Each is a heartrending tale of grief, soul searching, and of the challenge to oppose the death penalty instead of choosing the more socially acceptable behavior of supporting it. In fact, many people in the book have actually experienced discrimination by the state because of their opposition to the death penalty. Others have faced social ostracism from family and friends.

King sets the stories in the context of the national discussion over the death penalty debate and restorative versus retributive justice. The book will appeal not only to those who oppose the death penalty, but also to those who strive to understand how people can survive the ordeal of homicide.

Rachel King works for the Capital Punishment Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. She is currently working on a book about the families of death row inmates. Royalties from the sale of the book will be donated to victims’ organizations.

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