“Every day I fight against the urge to lasso the world and make it tame for you. I wish I could keep you in a bubble. I wish I could keep you safe here with me forever, but I will use all my strength, and I will give you wings instead my love; then I will cry the day you use them.” -Jessica Cushman Johnston
“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” -Anna Quindlen
“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.” – Mary Schmich
Yesterday was Mother’s Day. It’s a day when we thank, honor, and celebrate the miracle of motherhood, the most powerful life force on earth. To paraphrase the Jewish proverb, “God could not be everywhere, so she made mothers.”
Eleven months ago, our first grandchild, Violet Stanley Fisher, was born. While there still is much progress to be made, the world in which our granddaughter will grow up is one full of virtually limitless opportunities for girls and women, thanks in large part to many women like my wife, Peggy, my mother, my stepmother, my sisters, my daughter-in-law, my sisters-in-law, my mother-in-law, the mothers-at-law among our faculty, staff, students, and alumni, and so many other women who have raised their children with strength, confidence, and grace.
On Violet’s first birthday, her parents, our son and daughter-in-law, have asked family members, in lieu of gifts, to write a letter to Violet which she’ll open on her 18th birthday in the year 2036.
Among the words of advice I’ll offer Violet is to never stop learning and to read as much as she can as often as she can. My mother, Elaine “Boots” Fisher, Violet’s great-grandmother, was a voracious reader. When she died, my family established a special collection in her name of Newbery and Caldecott Medal and Honor children’s books at the Shaker Heights Public Library. She read a hardcover book almost every week and instilled a love of reading in me and my siblings. To this day, because of my mother, I read a book, eBook, or audiobook, often from a public library, every month.
Later this month, I plan to send a suggested summer reading list to all our students, including those who will join us in our Fall 2019 first year class. I want the reading list to be broad enough to include not only non-fiction and fiction books about law school and the legal system but also about leadership and social justice.
So I am asking for your fiction and non-fiction recommendations with 1-2 sentences why you think it’s a book worth reading. If you are an alumnus or student, please include your graduation year. Please use the subject line: Summer Reading. Please send it to me by Monday, May 20.
Not only will I include some of your and my recommendations in a Monday Morning Message later this month; I’ll also recommend some to Violet to read in 2036 with her bionic eyes on her digital eyeglasses.
P.S. I highly recommend downloading the app Libby created by OverDrive, the leading worldwide digital platform for eBooks, audiobooks, and other digital media for libraries, schools, government agencies, corporate learning centers, and colleges and universities. Libby enables you to borrow digital and audiobooks from public libraries instantly for free. The CEO & President of OverDrive is Steve Potash ’78, a member of our C|M|LAW Hall of Fame.
This Week’s Monday Moments: A Mother's Clock ; 8 Ways to Read the Books You Wish You Had Time For
Have a great day. Have a great week.
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.
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My views in all my Monday Morning Messages are my personal views alone and do not reflect the views of our law school or our university.
My best,
Lee