Parable of the Sower Day: 2024-07-20

Today is the chronological first diary entry in Octavia Butler’s 1993 book The Parable of the Sower. It’s particularly poignant for me as parallels in the book mirror portions of my life. I’ve just turned 50, my daughter is 13, I live in Altadena, CA, near the neighborhood where Octavia Butler grew up and in the neighborhood which ostensibly serves as the setting for the story. More eerily, the state of politics in America doesn’t seem very far away from what is described in Butler’s prescient book.

If you’ve never read it, today is an excellent one to start. If you don’t have a copy, I highly recommend buying one from my friend Nikki who runs the independent bookstore Octavia’s Bookshelf in Pasadena.

I’ve just begun re-reading it again today as a reminder…