Sign up to join the CODEPINK Book Club! Read our How-To Guide below to get started! You can order the book here. A reading group guide is available here CODEPINK Pink Pages Book Club While the first two CODEPINK Book Club picks were chosen for their elegant prose as well as their focus on personal journeys through Afghanistan, the third book, MEENA: HEROINE OF AFGHANISTAN, was selected as an introduction to the history of the Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) and to the life of RAWA’s inspirational founder, Meena. MEENA: HEROINE OF AFGHANISTAN, Melody Ermachild Davis, St. Martin’s Press, 2003. With a forward by Alice Walker. In this clearly and simply written biography of Meena, the founder of the Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), Davis reconstructs Meena’s life while giving a brief history of Afghanistan and detailing the early days of RAWA. Praise for MEENA: "Meena: a life, a country, Afghanistan, a woman's life, women's lives, bravery, and determination to educate girls and young in the face of the cruelest oppression. After Meena's murder, the women inspired by her, despite great danger, continue the work. An important book." —Grace Paley "Timely biography conscientiously detailing the brief but courageous life of the young woman who founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). . . A vivid celebration of a contemporary heroine." —Kirkus Reviews Chavis writes in a simple, direct way, in keeping with RAWA's mission to educate women and girls; the writing is completely accessible to anyone with, say, a high school education. Sometimes she creates dialogue or imagines scenes, as when the book opens with Meena's near-death in childhood from typhoid fever. The story is so filled with horror and suffering that any other approach would have rendered it unbelievable, or worse, melodramatic. It is the power of the story itself that sustains the book's momentum. —The Women’s Review of Books

ONLINE BOOK CLUB HOW-TO GUIDE: Join Pink Pages' Virtual Book Club on GoodReads. On our group page, you can leave reviews, share your comments and reactions, post upcoming events, participate in polls, suggest future readings, and more. Join Our Facebook Group Twitter Tags: #pinkpages @codepinkalert Share your Pink Pages comments on Twitter using the #pinkpages and @codepinkalert tags. Example: Well-behaved women rarely make history.  Reading about the courageous Meena of RAWA in Afghanistan for @codepinkalert #pinkpages http://bit.ly/ZIigE Pink Pages Book Club How-To Guide: CODEPINK is and has been a place for women to put their ideas – about resisting war, influencing foreign policy, showing solidarity with women in other countries, and much more -- into action. We’ve built a strong national base of local groups AND a powerful presence in Washington, DC, and we have a media reputation and reach far beyond that of other small groups. As a book club organizer, you’ll receive the month’s book suggestion with discussion questions. You’ll put together a group of people, probably all or mostly women, to read and talk about the book. The following month, you’ll crack open a new book and discuss the related questions. How do you start a book club? First, do your outreach. Ask women in your local group, but go beyond that by posting flyers at your local public library and/or bookstores. These are excellent ways to foster diversity in your members and meet new people. Talk Pink Pages book club up with women who areinterested in foreign policy and opposed to the US wars, but who may not be interested or available for our street actions. Ask those who are interested if they know someone who’d like to join a book club. Select a location that can be available for book club meetings for at least 3 months. While your home is one obvious choice for a place to meet, you should also consider such places as a library, cafe, or community center. Find a space that is reasonably quiet, accessible to transit, and easy for people to get to. Set a consistent day or evening and time (first Tuesday of the month at 8 PM, for example), so that you do not have to go through the process of scheduling each meeting. Once set, keep the same day and time; this creates an expectation of commitment and a group bonding that builds from month to month. Choose someone to facilitate discussion. This person may be a teacher (or former teacher), or anyone who is comfortable running a group discussion. This role can rotate among members of the book club club, but it’s best to have the same person do it for 2-3 months. Agreements that help groups flourish include: making sure everyone has a chance to speak; encouraging shy or new people to contribute; and gently encouraging listening in someone who tends to dominate discussion. The discussion should go for about 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of the group and the level of interest. Make sure everyone knows the next meeting date before leaving. Common questions to get book discussions started include these: What did you find surprising about the facts introduced in this book? How has reading this book changed your opinion of a certain person or topic? Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he or she achieve this? If the author is writing on a debatable issue, does he or she give proper consideration to all sides the debate? Does he or she seem to have a bias? How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter? Get your book, start reading, and look forward to great discussions!