It's officially the season of vacation, relaxation, and sunny afternoons—which means it's time to pick up a great book! 

Last month, we read King Leopold's Ghost, a sad, harrowing story about King Leopold II's capture of the territory surrounding the Congo River. 

We were particularly struck by this truth: "And yet the world we live in—its divisions and conflicts, its widening gap between rich and poor, its seemingly inexplicable outbursts of violence—is shaped far less by what we celebrate and mythologize than by the painful events we try to forget. Leopold's Congo is but one of those silences of history." 

Reading this book—while difficult—is an important step in our collective remembering of the moments that shape our present context. Let us know what struck you from this book in our Facebook discussion. 

Then join us this month as we read Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras.

Inspired by Contreras' personal story, Fruit of the Drunken Tree is a national bestseller and "a mesmerizing debut set in Colombia at the height of Pablo Escobar's violent reign about a sheltered young girl and a teenage maid who strike an unlikely friendship that threatens to undo them both" (Amazon). 

We can't wait to learn more about Colombia—the country in which Opportunity International disbursed its very first loan in 1971. Let us know what you think as you get started! 

Happy reading!