The Book
Like many adult siblings, Luke and Finn Mason find themselves pulled apart by political differences and divergent life choices. Families often seem to bridge this kind of gap – at least superficially – by maintaining traditions, keeping common childhood memories alive, or simply ignoring the differences.
But what happens when those differences run exceptionally deep or when they begin to seriously impact others both inside and outside the family? What happens when the cost of tolerance is the erosion of one’s deeply held values? When does this cost become too high? In Bending the Arc, Luke Mason finds himself in exactly this situation when his brother reveals growing misogynistic and racist tendencies. Then when Finn acts on those tendencies, leaves town and joins a White Nationalist group, Luke is finally forced to make some decisions.
Should he tolerate or ignore his brother’s actions in the hope of future reconciliation? Or should he abandon this hope and maintain his own integrity? Is there a middle path? Luke is encouraged by someone close to him to take the first path, the easier choice. But when others he loves are cruelly affected, the choice becomes much less abstract, much more personal, and implies much broader consequences.
Bending the Arc is the story of the Mason family as they grapple with their new reality, first with indecision and confusion, but later with clarity and action. It is a story about broken relationships giving rise to powerful new connections, about the damaging blindness of white privilege, and about the potential for healing when people honestly share their own stories across cultural and racial boundaries.
Bending the Arc is published by AIA Publishing in Australia and is now available for ordering at its Amazon page. Here are two editorial reviews:
“A thoroughly entertaining read that will also make you think, this is recommended reading for every political and community leader in the country. As the title implies, even when things appear hopeless, there is still hope. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ‘The arc of the universe is long, but bends toward justice,” but as the protagonist discovers, it only bends when people take a stand against intolerance.
I absolutely could not put this down. Kudos to Don Thompson for a five-star book.
Charles Ray, Awesome Indies Book Awards”
“Massively entertaining yet profoundly thought-provoking, Bending the Arc illuminates the edges where our light meets shadow. Within the captivating tale of two brothers, Thompson, a master storyteller, invites us to sit in the fire where our uncomfortableness can mask as tolerance and our intolerance as Truth. Bending the Arc embodies archetypal activism, where the trajectory toward equality and justice becomes less about ideals and more about real people—less about the stories we hold and more about how our stories hold us.
You cannot read this book and remain unchanged.
Susan J. Daley, psychotherapist
Seattle”