Shades of Light by Sharon Garlough Brown

It starts with Wren and her mother living in Australia. Twenty years later, Wren sees a news clip of beached whales in New Zealand. This tragedy causes Wren to check into the Glenwood Psychiatric Hospital to get some help. She has trouble thinking about the whales and if they will survive. After a couple of weeks, with the help of Hannah Allen, her pastor, she is released from the hospital. She winds up at her Aunt Kit’s home about a mile from her former apartment following the death of her cat, Theo. The book follows Wren in the four stages of her recovery from mental illness, which should not be regarded as a negative perspective of who the person is. You need to read the entire book.

Just Mercy (a Story of Justice and Redemption) by Bryan Stevenson

A 2016 UMW book that should be read by everyone. The author sets up an Equal Justice Initiative Office to help the poor and wrongly condemned. His first office was in Atlanta then he moved it to Montgomery, Alabama. The most notable case was that of Walter McMillian who was accused of killing Ronda Morrison and sent to death row before being convicted. The story is being made into a movie coming out this year.