A Fantastic Experience
Nine smart working-class RCers got together under the intelligent leadership of Melissa Cowell and together read Doughnut Economics, by Kate Raworth. We met seven times to discuss the seven chapters. I am sure I wouldn’t have stuck with [continued with] the reading if I hadn’t been in the group.
Melissa constantly reminded us that we were intelligent, that our struggling with reading the book was not our individual failing but part of class oppression, and that we could do it together.
In the group we stuck to talking about the book and mostly took sessions on it outside the group. We did have mini-sessions within the group, but Melissa made sure that we used them to think about the topic rather than primarily for discharging our feelings. That kept us focused on the fact that we could understand and have opinions and from going into victim material [distress] about how hard it was.
That we all got time in front of the others to talk about what a chapter was saying helped me to understand the book. Everyone mentioned different bits, and I learned a lot from that.
It was a fantastic experience, and we are going to do more. I can’t wait!
Coventry, West Midlands, England
(Present Time 205, October 2021)