Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Well Behaved Wives: A Novel

By Scott J. Pearson | October 6, 2022October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

The 1960s were transformative years for America, particularly for women. Coming out of the 1950s, many women felt constrained by limiting gender roles. However, in the early 1960s, feminism had not yet taken deep root. Women began to ask spiritual questions about whether there was more to life than being “well behaved.” This book chronicles women’s challenges of this era while shining light on repressive issues like domestic violence. Ruth Applebaum is a newlywed with…

Fiction-Stories Management-Business

Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (& Their Employees)

By Scott J. Pearson | October 5, 2022October 5, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Most people fear having a miserable job, and some are stuck in this predicament. Even jobs with nice enticements like fame and money can leave employees feeling unfulfilled by meaninglessness. One person has a disproportionately large impact on this situation: the manager. She/he can help employees find meaning in their work. In this book, Lencioni describes how managers can gift this to their employees… and achieve better results along the way. Lencioni has written another…

Mentoring

Super Mentors: The Ordinary Person’s Guide to Asking Extraordinary People for Help

By Scott J. Pearson | September 30, 2022September 30, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

As adults move from school into the workplace, learning from teachers in formal settings often shifts to learning from mentors in more informal settings. However, in this new environment, being a successful mentee is often more important than having a successful mentor. Being a successful mentee means growing in self-awareness and persistent towards finding out the right answers to your specific dilemmas. Learning to ask the right questions to the right people in the right…

Leadership Management-Business

The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster & Smarter

By Scott J. Pearson | September 29, 2022September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Starting any new job is tough, and the pressure cooker is even hotter if the job involves leadership of some sort. There’s simply so much history and dynamics that the new leader is unaware of and so many new difficulties that have not been surmounted. Yet leaders are responsible for lots, and their actions can impact how hundreds of thousands of dollars – if not millions – are spent. How can we improve the chances…

History Society

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

By Scott J. Pearson | September 21, 2022September 21, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

The tragic death of George Floyd in 2020 prompted a mass reexamination of issues of race in America. Part of that self-review necessitated promoting voices of African-American history into the national narrative. New York Times writer Hannah-Jones compiled this anthology that seeks to unearth and publicize elements of American history long hidden due to tacit shame and injustice. The pieces contained herein make a forceful case that we need a broader, more inclusive understanding of…

Healthcare Research-Education

The CTSA Program at NIH: Opportunities for Advancing Clinical & Translational Research

By Scott J. Pearson | September 20, 2022September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

The CTSA Program at NIH seeks to advance clinical and translational research – that is, quicken the flow of helpful information across the American healthcare system. This program began in 2006 and has been a big hit. By the time this report was compiled in 2013, a new landscape of translational research began to emerge. This report, from a committee of national figures in the research community, seeks to identify what a “CTSA 2.0” might…

Biography-Memoir Religion-Philosophy

In Memoriam: Frederick Buechner (1926-2022)

By Scott J. Pearson | September 18, 2022September 18, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

It is impossible for me to assess Frederick Buechner’s impact on readers without assessing his impact on my life, which remains profound. Thus, I will start there. At age 16, I chose to take my Christian faith seriously. For a Southern Baptist teenager, that meant not cursing, hanging out with the “right” crowd, and other pieties. I began to pay attention at church more, especially at our youth group meetings, and began to pay more…

Mentoring Society

Critical Mentoring: A Practical Guide

By Scott J. Pearson | September 16, 2022September 16, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

The next generation is always society’s most important resource, so it follows that mentoring youth is an important activity. The author Weiston-Serdan leads a non-profit network of youth mentors in Southern California. She encounters situations where mentors have to unpack social baggage that can hold youth back – issues like race, gender, class, and sexuality. These issues are often classified under the label of critical theory, issues where power relationships can exist. Therefore, her message…

Fiction-Stories History Religion-Philosophy

The Fire & the Ore: A Novel

By Scott J. Pearson | September 12, 2022October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

This book is an exploration of polygamy – i.e., plural marriage – how it forms and how it operates. It’s an exploration of a topic that is controversial because of its place in early Mormon society and curious because it runs contrary to how much of society has organized itself. I live in the American South and am a Protestant Christian. Southern Christians would never deign to practice public plural marriages. (Polyamory is another matter,…

Fiction-Stories Religion-Philosophy

Moses, Man of the Mountain: A Novel

By Scott J. Pearson | September 5, 2022September 5, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

In Western and Middle-Eastern thought, undergirded by three monotheistic faiths, the Moses story carries overarching significance. It tells of liberation from bondage and the struggle of living with that freedom. It tells of the temptations to lapse into prior, seeming comforts of slavery. It tells how freedom, best exercised, consists of communing with a transcendent yet imminent God. This story is taught to children regularly in synagogues, churches, and mosques the world over. For those…