Best this month McFarland, USA This exciting sports film is based on a true story. Kevin
Costner stars as Jim White, a high school coach in a poverty- stricken town in California’s Central Valley where most of the population is Mexican-American. He notices that some of the students are fast runners as they go to their jobs in the fields before and after school. He decides to organize the town’s first cross-country team and, against all odds, takes them to the state championship.
Director Niki Caro, who also directed Whale Rider and
North Country, proves once again that she has a knack for delivering uplifting portraits of communities as the test- ing ground for the forging of character. Costner puts in a stellar performance as the flawed coach who teaches these Mexican-American youth to believe in themselves, and to realize the extraordinary strength and discipline it takes to work in the fields, attend school and then practice rigorous running routines. Best of all is Caro’s vision of a flourish- ing Mexican-American community that stands by its own when they need encouragement and support (Walt Disney Pictures, PG—thematic material, some violence, language).
The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America
More than 42.5 million
Kevin Costner stars as Jim White, who leads the McFarland (Calif.) High School cross-country team to a state championship.
Americans are providing care for an elderly family member. Of them, 20 million are in the sandwich generation, strug- gling to hold things together
Peace is an Offering Annette LeBox is a poet
and naturalist. In this heart- felt poem about living in peace in everyday life, she focuses on a community of children. The little ones
describe peace as an offering, holding on to another, the words you say to a brother, and more places and activities: “Peace is a joining, not a pulling apart. It’s the courage to bear a wounded heart.” The simple but elegant
Author bio:
The Brussats publish the website www.SpiritualityandPractice. com where you can find more information about the items reviewed in this column.
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www.thelutheran.org
illustrations by Stephanie Graegin nicely complement the text (Dial Books for Young Readers,
www.penguin. com).
between younger and older relatives. Since the popula- tion over age 83 is the fastest growing demographic in America, the current care crisis will only get worse. By 2018 demand for home care workers will increase by more than 90 percent. Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic
Workers Alliance and co-director of the Caring Across Generations campaign, provides a hopeful and help- ful overview of what’s ahead for health care, the long lived and caregiving. To ensure every elder a future with dignity, she suggests that home care supported by professionals is the wave of the future. The most precious services these eldercare workers can provide are physical and emotional: compassion, tenderness and listening. On this foundation, Poo challenges us to build trust and a willingness to let go of outmoded ideas and ideals. The book has an appendix with resources for fami-
lies and another on ways to get involved (The New Press,
www.thenewpress.com).
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
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