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You are here: Home / Gracyn McGathy

Book Review: ‘The Grief We’re Given’ and the end of COVID-19

April 20, 2021 by Gracyn McGathy Leave a Comment

What is grief if not love persevering?  - WandaVision This past year we’ve seen tragedy after tragedy befall on our neighbors, friends and family. For some, these hardships have occurred with greater severity than others, like losing a loved one or being hospitalized themselves. Others, like me, missed prom and graduation, missed out on weddings ... [Read More…]

Filed Under: Book Review

Book Review: ‘Overdoing Democracy’ by Robert B. Talisse

March 16, 2021 by Gracyn McGathy Leave a Comment

Nobody wants to read another monologue on “messy politics.” Frankly, the outpour of information and unwarranted opinions are enough to send any person over the edge. For the purposes of this review – I’ll refer to politics as a chocolate milkshake: simple, easily digested, and not controversial (mostly). You’ll thank me later. Chocolate ... [Read More…]

Filed Under: Book Review

Book Review: ‘Charlotte’s Web’ and a commentary on loss

February 12, 2021 by Gracyn McGathy Leave a Comment

“‘Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. 'That in itself is a tremendous thing.’” Charlotte’s Web finds me in the impenetrable darkness of these harrowing times. It is a book I’d like a friend to read to me on my deathbed – a story that ... [Read More…]

Filed Under: Book Review

Media Review: ‘The Other Latif’ by Latif Nasser

January 28, 2021 by Gracyn McGathy 2 Comments

There reaches a certain point in an individual's life when a veil of indifference is tugged down over the eyes. Just the knowledge that children half a world away clench their grumbling stomachs like wet dough is no longer cause enough to care. Evil becomes a largely impersonal entity - a fate that befalls nameless men and women in nameless places. ... [Read More…]

Filed Under: Book Review

Book Review: “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck

January 17, 2021 by Gracyn McGathy Leave a Comment

And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good -John Steinbeck, East of Eden East of Eden was the first novel I ever read that forced me to question practically everything I knew to be true. John Steinbeck is known for many extraordinary works, but East of Eden is something so spectacular that I struggle to understand how a fallible, ... [Read More…]

Filed Under: Book Review

Book Review: “American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey Into The Business Of Punishment” by Shane Bauer

November 9, 2020 by Gracyn McGathy

“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” ― Nelson Mandela   As of 2013, there were an estimated 133,000 prisoners institutionalized in private prisons. There are times in life when you must question the ... [Read More…]

Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Book Review

Media Review: “The Shallows: What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains” by Nick Carr and Jeff Orlowski’s “The Social Dilemma”

October 21, 2020 by Gracyn McGathy

Let’s talk technology. We are living in what scientists have deemed the “information age,”: essentially an era built upon a consistent stream of intelligence. This ocean spills over into several large rivers we identify as social platforms, all of which utilize a marketing strategy of engineered seduction. Gone is the world where shared media can ... [Read More…]

Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Book Review

Book Review: “Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved” by Kate Bowler

October 5, 2020 by Gracyn McGathy

“If I were to invent a sin to describe what that was--for how I lived--I would not say it was simply that I didn’t stop to smell the roses. It was the sin of arrogance, of becoming impervious to life itself. I failed to love what was present and decided to love what was possible instead.” Kate Bowler’s Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other ... [Read More…]

Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Book Review

Book review: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

September 21, 2020 by Gracyn McGathy

“As they say, history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.” Rarely in modern literature do I find authors who risk their platforms for the sake of controversial writing. Margaret Atwood is one among the few, a wolf in women’s clothing. The Testaments, sister to The Handmaid’s Tale and Atwood’s latest work, is evidence of her willingness to ... [Read More…]

Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Book Review

You are here: Home / Gracyn McGathy

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acuoptimistThe Optimist@acuoptimist·
22h

The Department of Theatre is producing three spring shows, including a senior showcase, Dance of Hope and Songs for New World. Read more below:
https://acuoptimist.com/2021/04/acu-theatre-prepares-for-several-spring-productions/

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acuoptimistThe Optimist@acuoptimist·
21 Apr

"By being back at a church in-person, I saw the body of Christ like I had not seen it before: as a working machine." Read more from Managing Editor Dillon Daniel below:
https://acuoptimist.com/2021/04/my-experience-back-in-a-fully-opened-church/

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The Optimist

25 minutes ago

The Optimist
It’s the moment you all have been waiting for. Our 2021 Sing Song predictions have officially been released. Read more below: ...

2021 Sing Song predictions - Optimist

acuoptimist.com

Sing Song 2021 will take place at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Abilene this weekend. All acts will be judged on just three categories: vocals, entertainment and costumes. The Optimists’ overall predictions are listed below.   Fraternities First Place: Frater Sodalis These Appalachian mountai...
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The Optimist

22 hours ago

The Optimist
The Department of Theatre is producing three spring shows, including a senior showcase, Dance of Hope and Songs for New World. Read more below: ...

ACU Theatre prepares for several spring productions - Optimist

acuoptimist.com

This year the Department of Theatre has been involved in three spring productions, a Senior Showcase, Dance of Hope and Songs for New World. Two of these productions are being filmed and one will be over livestream for students and the ACU Community to watch. The Senior Showcase, which is usually in...
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