When I went to buy this book, I hesitated. Did I want to read about despair? Tightrope – Americans Reaching for Hope has it from page 1.
But the setting, just east of where I went to college in McMinnville proved the final push and I am glad that I read it. Many books would try to prove a thesis and slightly or majorly bend the facts to fit their particular world view. This is especially true when politics is a major player. But the major player here is that the wife-husband write team of WuDunn and Kristof live in the area so the bent is towards the people who live there and how they have fared in this sub-section of America. That means that they love the people but not their actions.
They also find stories from across the US that touch on education, the opioid crisis, domestic violence and how it can be helped. It is not pleasant to read. To me it is a less funny version of John Oliver and Last Week Tonight. Taking apart the issues and laying them bare. It is hard to read and know that the life of your parents was filled with more hope than my generation (X) or future generations. But this book is filled with success too. And ideas. Ideas that mean less focus on the 1% and spending money on treatment, on schools, on medical coverage.
Because the area is filled with farms and vineyards, I have two suggestions for you. Find a farmhouse ale. Something rustic and earthy. Or you could find a beer from our state capital, Sacramento and then write a letter to your congressperson about what you learned from Tightrope and what you, as a voter, would like done.