Books on Social Justice that Inspire Me...

Jul 06, 2024

James Timpson’s book- The Happy Index is the second book I wanted to read this year, given my occasional shortening attention span as an adult. >< It talks about kindness and looking after the employee as the keys to a successful company. Without giving away the lessons in the book- here is a short extract.

<Typically, when our sales have dropped, it is because one of our colleagues has encountered a problem, which usually has nothing to do with their job and is often beyond their control. It is this area where we- I firmly believe - offer standout care. >

<Towards the end of each month, I receive a confidential report (called ‘Colleagues of Concern’), which outlines three key areas: mental wellbeing, physical health, financial worries…….Either way, it is our job to help. If we don’t, we could potentially lose some of the best people in the business. There are many ways we can support, but rarely is money the only answer.>

Don’t own a company but philosophically, we are our own company. Everyone makes an impact. Have downloaded it from my library and may purchase the physical copy. Some invaluable lessons in the book:

Assemble a High-Performing Super Team and You Will Never Have to Worry
To Get Ahead, You’ve Got to Get About - It talks about sussing out the competition and surprise visits to his various shoe repair shoes everyday to understand what’s going on.
The State and The Street- A Story of Government and Business
Succession Planning
Give back to Get More ( Renowned for his work supporting and rehabilitating ex-convicts, Mr. Timpson's company has hired over 1,500 prisoners since 2008.)
How to Interview Employees and the only two details that matter.

I pray and trust that Mr Timpson does great things as the new Prisons Minister for the U.K. It is reported that their prisons are going to run out of space in a matter of months. Do feel strongly about social justice and prison justice. Perhaps because I am a nobody living on a tiny Asian island, it is saddening to think about the injustices that have perpetuated in each of our lives through the ages. Watching the news of the U.K. Election results, I hope that Mr. Starmer’s government does great things. X

Here’s How Trust & Kindness Make a Business Successful | James Timpson | TEDxManchester

Creating Freedom by Raoul Martinez

This is the first book I was so fascinated by this year and have started reading. Still in the process of finishing the book. Haha.

Creating Freedom is very much a philosophical book that challenges you to rethink how we see the world and hopefully with more empathetic lens that may make society kinder and fairer.

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Summary of Book from Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (eji.org)

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit law office in Montgomery, Alabama, dedicated to defending the poor, the incarcerated, and the wrongly condemned.

Just Mercy tells the story of EJI, from the early days with a small staff facing the nation’s highest death sentencing and execution rates, through a successful campaign to challenge the cruel practice of sentencing children to die in prison, to revolutionary projects designed to confront Americans with our history of racial injustice.

One of EJI’s first clients was Walter McMillian, a young Black man who was sentenced to die for the murder of a young white woman that he didn’t commit.

Read this book perhaps a decade ago. This book is not written in a gruesome manner like some horrible crime news, and is probably palatable for older teenagers. Available on Kindle or perhaps your local library. This book reminds me of another news story of a former school groundskeeper who suffered aggressive skin cancer, affecting his life drastically due to an herbicide in the weed killer Roundup by a big food company. He was awarded millions of dollars after a successful lawsuit represented by his lawyer, R F K Junior. Hope that the legal system will be impartial instead of a political tool by “reigning’ politicians. More on the news here.

Another book I hope to read soon is Fully Alive by Elizabeth Oldfield.

and Elizabeth’s Substack is here! https://substack.com/home/post/p-143793628

The Vulnerability of Seeking Community (substack.com)

Have had the privilege of seeing Elizabeth, albeit from afar once at an event. ^^ Very warm and uplifting pretty mother with a sparkling aura. XO

Since this is a post on book recommendations on social justice, will end off the post with a picture of the majestic Royal Courts of Justice here, taken in May 2024. May all beings walk through the doors of justice and may we receive Grace. Not sure what this means, as I have no religion but am inclined to believe there’s Divinity.