Love Wins: The Lover and Lawyers Who Fought The Landmark Case For Marriage Equality

by Debbie Cenziper and Jim Obergefell

On June 26, 2015, in a decision that drew headlines around the world, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the constitutional right of gay couples to marry in all 50 states after decades of incremental rulings. The historic case, Obergefell v Hodges, began with a simple wish: John Arthur, paralyzed by ALS, wanted to die a married man. In LOVE WINS: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Debbie Cenziper and co-author Jim Obergefell, the named plaintiff and now among the most recognized faces in the LGBTQ rights movement, present an intimate, gripping account of the legal precedents and personal hardships behind this unforgettable victory for the gay community. Taking readers inside courtrooms, lives, and hearts, LOVE WINS captures the determination and courage of couples, families, supporters, activists, and attorneys who joined forced to validate the bonds between same-sex partners from coast to coast. 

An Abbreviated Life

Ariel Leve

A beautiful, startling, and candid memoir about growing up without boundaries, in which Ariel Leve recalls with candor and sensitivity the turbulent time she endured as the only child of an unstable poet for a mother and a beloved but largely absent father, and explores the consequences of a psychologically harrowing childhood as she seeks refuge from the past and recovers what was lost. (Reading With Robin podcast with Ariel Leve is available on iTunes). 

If I Forget You

Thomas Christopher Greene

If I Forget You unfurls the story of two former lover who- 21 years after they were driven apart by circumstances beyond their control –have a chance encounter on a Manhattan street. Through alternating points of view, Greene introduces Henry Gold, a poet whose rise from poverty embodies the American dream, and Margot Fuller, the daughter of a prominent, wealthy family.  The reader bears witness to their unlikely, star-crossed love affair, complete with the secrets they carry when the find each other for the second time.  (Thomas will be joining us at Point Street Reading Series on June 21st)

The Wedding Sisters

 Jamie Brenner

A heartwarming multi-generational drama about a universal and beloved rite of passage, The Wedding Sisters, is author Jamie Brenner’s literary leap into the world of women’s fiction. Inspired by the media frenzy surrounding the spectacular marriages of the Miller sisters of the 1990’s- a story that continues with their daughters in this past April’s Vanity Fair- Brenner imagines what would happen to a modest family thrust into a similar spotlight.

(The Wedding Sisters is a Reading With Robin Book Club pick –July 21st)

Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty

 Ramona Ausubel

The story begins on Labor Days 1976 on Martha’s Vineyard. Summering at the family beach house, Fern and Edgar – married with three children- learn that the unimaginable has occurred. There is no more money. More specifically, there’s no more money in the estate that had allowed them to live this charmed and comfortable life despite their professed anti-money ideals. Quickly unraveling, they are tempted away on separate adventures – unknowingly abandoning their three young children, who set about devising a kind of Netherland for themselves.