Barking to the Choir the Power of Radical Kinship Review
Father Gregory Boyle and his second book, "Barking to the Choir."
(Simon & Schuster)
Father Gregory Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries, has told stories about his experiences with 50.A.'south gang members in sermons, speaking engagements and in 2 nonfiction books.
His latest volume, "Barking to the Choir," is a drove of anecdotes well-nigh his daily interactions with the men and women who come to Homeboy for counseling, classes, tattoo removal and shifts at its bakery operation. "Barking to the Choir," a Los Angeles Times Book Guild selection, follows Boyle's bestselling "Tattoos on the Heart."
A Jesuit priest and quondam pastor in one of L.A.'s poorest parishes, Boyle mixes his observations most faith and compassion with inspiration gained from Walt Whitman, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rumi, as well as the ex-gang members and inmates he meets daily. He writes tender stories about what suffering and second chances can do to a person, oftentimes with a humorous twist.
Topics for give-and-take
- What did you know nigh L.A.'s gang civilization before reading the book? Did anything surprise you?
- Boyle describes Homeboy Industries every bit "representing the heart of Los Angeles." What is the middle of L.A. to you?
- Boyle began working with gang members three decades ago after becoming pastor at Dolores Mission Church in E Los Angeles and subsequently founded Homeboy Industries, now located on the edge of Chinatown and downtown. In "Barking to the Choir," he shares the personal stories of "homies" who drop past his office for counseling, write to him from jail, sign up for job training and other programs. Is in that location a story or person in the book that stuck with you the almost? Why did you gravitate toward that story?
- The volume combines what Boyle has learned immediate with teachings from religion, philosophy and literature. Is there any wisdom you will have away?
- The author refers to erstwhile gang members equally those living life on the margins. What does it mean to live life on the margins?
- A central theme of the book is kinship, and Boyle talks about solutions to society's problems beyond incarceration. What do you think kinship looks like in activity? Why does kinship matter?
- "Barking to the Choir" describes instances in which people challenge Homeboy Industries and criticize the way Boyle aspires to discover humanity in all people, no matter their background. What do you brand of the criticism?
- In the chapter "Good Guy," the author writes, "Gangs are the places kids go when they have realized their life as a misery. And who doesn't know by now that misery loves company? But in thirty years of walking with gang members, I've never met a bad guy." Do you believe in the idea of the good guy and bad guy?
- Toward the end of the volume, Boyle writes nearly interactions between homeboys and law officers. What do those interactions say about the relationship between police and the communities they patrol?
- The author writes: "Homeboy receives people; it doesn't rescue them. In being received rather than rescued, gang members come to find themselves at home in their own pare." What places brand you feel at home in your own skin?
More information
Author interview: Male parent Gregory Boyle has an ambitious plan to aggrandize Homeboy Industries.
Within Homeboy Industries: five things to know most Father Gregory Boyle and "Barking to the Choir."
Column: A homie, a volunteer and a bulletin of radical kinship from Father Greg Boyle.
Your adjacent read: Male parent Gregory Boyle and other book gild authors share the books they couldn't put down in 2019.
Book Club: On Dec. 16, the L.A. Times Book Gild welcomes Begetter Gregory Boyle for a breakfast conversation with author Héctor Tobar nearly "Barking to the Choir." The upshot includes tours of Homeboy Industries. (The event is sold out.) Sign up for the Los Angeles Times Volume Club newsletter for book news and upcoming events.
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Source: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2019-12-13/book-club-discussion-guide-barking-to-the-choir-gregory-boyle
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