Customer Reviews

Altars in the Street: A Neighborhood Fights to Survive

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Melody Ermachild Chavis' book has proved to me that one person CAN make a difference. This story stayed with me, and I can't wait to read "Finding Freedom" by Jarvis Masters, the Death Row inmate Melody befrinds in "Altars." Chavis tells the story of a crumbling South Berkeley neighborhood with realistic hard-edged truths, taking the reader along with her as she struggles to fight back against the drug wars and violence taking over her community. You'll find yourself sharing her pain, joy and frustration with every page you turn. I recommend this book to anyone with an inkling for the possibility of social change. To those who are skeptics, I say give "Altars in the Street" a chance to change your mind--and your life--forever. Bravo to Melody. I just hope she continues to publish her work.

Melody Ermachild Chavis writes a thoughtful and compelling account of her commitment to an inner-city neighborhood. Weaving family, community, and personal stories, Melody recounts the joys, triumphs, and struggles she encountered in this Berkely neighborhood. Interspersed are the beginnings of her Buddhist faith which provide the graceful style of her writing. This is one of those books that will remain floating around in my brain for quite some time. It was required reading for a senior Social Work class, but I found that it speaks to all of us who find ourselves in neighborhoods or communities. We all face challenges of living closely together and this is a testament that these difficulties can be overcome in a harmonious fashion.

Alters in the Street slices through the jaded, bunker-mentality of urban life by seeping us in the war zone, giving a poignant face to the brutalized and brutalizing who are our neighbors, and delivering renewed committment and a path to making peace and quality of life right where we are. I experienced the whole range of emotions, cried while reading every chapter but ended up wanting to extend myself further into my community. I almost wanted to become a Buddhist! A moving example of travelling through discord, through the elements that separate us from ourselves and our community to reach a more integrated, whole and hopeful self.

As owner of GAIA Bookstore in Berkeley, I read many books and I'm often being asked to read many more, as you can imagine. So when ALTARS IN THE STREET arrived at GAIA, I packed it along with many books to take on a weekend trip. Thinking I might read a few pages, I was immediately engrossed by this beautifully written book, rich in detail yet capturing the essence of human struggles and resourcefulness. Melody portrays the horrors of life where drugs and violence are daily visitors. Yet rather than feeling depressed or overwhelmed by the problems, I was filled with hope, learning how much there is that we can do when we engage our hearts and face the suffering courageously and creatively. The actions she and her neighbors took were heroic, but things any of us can do to solve community problems, to improve the quality of life where we live, to restore kindness to our streets, to provide our children with a future to look forward to. PATRICE WYNNE, Owner of GAIA Bookstor