Susan Mills and Bill Ayers celebrate On the Wings of a Hummingbird

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Join us on January 19th at 7pm as we welcome Susan Mills and Bill Ayers for an in-store event in celebration of Susan's book On the Wings of a Hummingbird. At 15 years old, Petra must grow into the lessons of the Mayan hummingbird as she carves her future out of a childhood scarred by gang violence. Petra’s life has been upended by local gang violence in her small Guatemalan village. Her childhood friend Emilio had a hand in their friend Justina's murder, and his father is the local gang leader's right-hand man. Betrayed by Emilio and abandoned by her mother who has fled to the U.S., Petra now fears for her own life. Petra ultimately flees to the U.S., but the pressures follow her there. As she attempts to reconcile with her mother over the abandonment, Petra is alarmed that her mother disregards the danger when Emilio shows up near their home. The story explores forgiveness and redemption, the role of imagination and myth in a life of integrity, immigration and refugees, and the limited choices available to a Central American girl in forging her sexuality and role as a woman. The story is very relevant to today’s immigration discussions, to restorative/transformative justice issues, and to anyone who is or knows someone who must rebuild a life as an immigrant or trauma survivor. About the author: Until Susan Mills moved to Vermont a couple of years ago, she ran an immigration law firm in Providence and the Boston area as a Spanish-speaking attorney for 20-plus years. She prepared asylum cases for thousands of immigrants from Central America, with a focus on unaccompanied teenagers. Her work, as well as her life experiences as a community activist, family member of refugees from El Salvador, and a part of the lesbian feminist community, was certainly inspirational for this novel. Bill Ayers is an author, activist, and educator whose books include with Crystal Laura and Rick Ayers “You Can’t Fire the Bad Ones!” And 18 Other Myths About Teachers, Teachers’ Unions, and Public Education (Beacon Press, 2018), Demand the Impossible! A Radical Manifesto (Haymarket Books, 2016), Teaching with Conscience in an Imperfect World: An Invitation (Teachers College Press, 2016), Public Enemy: Confessions of an American Dissident (Beacon Press, 2013), with Ryan Alexander-Tanner To Teach: The Journey in Comics (Teachers College Press, 2010), with Bernardine Dohrn Race Course: Against White Supremacy (Third World Press 2008), with Rick Ayers Teaching the Taboo: Courage and Imagination in the Classroom (Teachers College Press, 2011), Teaching toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action in the Classroom (Beacon Press, 2004), with Kevin Kumashiro, Erica Meiners, Therese Quinn, and David Stovall Teaching toward Democracy: Educators as Agents of Change (Paradigm, 2010), A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court (Beacon Press, 1997), Fugitive Days: A Memoir (Beacon Press, 2001, 2008), On the Side of the Child: Summerhill Revisited (Teachers College Press, 2003), Teaching the Personal and the Political: Essays on Hope and Justice (Teachers College Press, 2004), The Good Preschool Teacher: Six Teachers Reflect on Their Lives, (Teachers College Press, 1989), and To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher, (Teachers College Press, 1993) which was named Book of the Year in 1993 by Kappa Delta Pi, and won the Witten Award for Distinguished Work in Biography and Autobiography in 1995.