The Power of Together
Written by Marcie Stokman, Well-Read Mom Founder and President
A while back, the WSJ published an article titled “No, I Don’t Want to Join Your Book Club.” In the article, Betsey McKay wrote, “No one wants someone telling them what to read,” so this NY book club decided that instead of reading the same book, they would meet together and silently read whatever they wanted—individually.
I felt saddened. What a lonely book club! “Don’t tell me what to read,” says the loneliest generation ever.
We live in a culture of individualism that says: I create myself—by myself—for myself. But this way of thinking leads to isolation and increasing loneliness.
It’s no surprise that the United States ranks number one on the Individualism Index, a measure used by researchers to determine how we think about the role of the individual versus the role of the group. Rugged individualism is an obstacle to building community.
The truth is: We need each other. We thrive in relationships. We are better together!
In Well-Read Mom, we are resisting individualism by staying together in our reading, and together matters:
Together, we are building a core base of literary works that enables us to engage in civil dialogue and build cultural literacy locally and across the country.
Together, we are impacting Google algorithms, influencing book publishers, and creating a market for books from our tradition.
Together, in small local groups spread across all 50 states and 12 countries, we are building.
And what is being built?
Faith. Friendship. And a culture of life.
Thank you for your “yes” to read more and read well.
About Marcie Stokman
Marcie Stokman, M.A., is founder and president of Well-Read Mom, an international movement and book club. As a former clinical nurse practitioner in mental health and longtime homeschooler, she writes and speaks to encourage women and share the power of reading. She and her husband, Peter, have seven children and 20 grandchildren. Marcie is the author of The Well-Read Mom: Read more. Read well.
About Well-Read Mom
In Well-Read Mom, women read more and read well. Our hope is to deepen the awareness of meaning hidden in each woman’s daily life, elevate the cultural conversation, and revitalize reading literature from books. If you would like to have us help you select worthy reading material, we invite you to join and read along with us. We are better together! For information on how to start or join a Well-Read Mom group visit our website wellreadmom.com
