{"product_id":"east-of-troost-paperback","title":"East of Troost - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eEllen Barker\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnder the guise of a starting-over story, this novel deals with subtle racism today, overt racism in the past, and soul-searching about what to do about it in everyday living. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eEast of Troost\u003c\/i\u003e's fictional narrator has moved back to her childhood home in a neighborhood that is now mostly Black and vastly changed by an expressway that displaced hundreds of families. It is the area located east of Troost Avenue, an invisible barrier created in the early 1900s to keep the west side of Kansas City white, \"safely\" cordoned off from the Black families on the east side. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen the narrator moves back to her old neighborhood in pursuit of a sense of home, she deals with crime, home repair, and skepticism--what is this middle-aged white woman doing here, living alone? Supported by a wise neighbor, a stalwart dog, and the local hardware store, we see her navigate her adult world while we get glimpses of author Ellen Barker's real life there as a teenager in the sixties, when white families were fleeing and Black families moving in--and sometimes back out when met with hatred and violence. A regional story with universal themes, \u003ci\u003eEast of Troost\u003c\/i\u003e goes to the basics of human behavior: compassion and cruelty, fear and courage, comedy and drama.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEllen Barker \u003c\/b\u003egrew up in Kansas City during a period of demographic upheaval, and she returns there in her novels. She has a bachelor's degree in urban studies from Washington University in Saint Louis, where she developed a passion for how cities work, and don't. She began her career as an urban planner, then spent many years working for large consulting firms, first as a writer-editor and later managing large data systems. Her volunteer work involves years of pet-assisted therapy with children in \"the system,\" both foster care and prison. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eEast of Troost, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich introduced readers to the neighborhood where \u003ci\u003eThe Breaks \u003c\/i\u003etakes place, and \u003ci\u003eStill Needs Work, \u003c\/i\u003e which takes place in the same area. She now lives in Los Altos, California, with her husband and their German shepherd, Boris, who is the inspiration for the dog in this novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 328\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 8.4 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 06, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43634564825177,"sku":"9781647422295","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0736\/6465\/9545\/files\/A84MLCiSUu9781647422295.webp?v=1784109054","url":"https:\/\/warrenssanctuaryofthemind.myshopify.com\/de\/products\/east-of-troost-paperback","provider":"Warren's sanctuary of the mind","version":"1.0","type":"link"}