Book reviews

Building High-Trust CommUNITY argues that America's conflicts result from a distrust in society and politics. It begins by examining people and trust in a historical context covering the period from Abraham Lincoln to the COVID pandemic. The book reviews trust at an individual level and explains our ability to innovate and solve problems to arrive at societal trust. After these concepts are established, the practical aspects of cooperation at personal, emotional, and social levels are discussed. Pamela Shockley-Zalabak and Sherwyn Morreale support their ideas with real examples. They draw on their own experiences, political, and couple studies. Most of their arguments for positive change use five fundamental principles that they describe in clear terms: competence, openness and honesty, concern for others, reliability, and identification. Using these, we can create a more stable and trusting society. Pamela Shockley-Zalabak and Sherwyn Morreale achieved fantastic results from their research. They show a great concern for current problems, which is why Building High-Trust CommUNITY is useful for anyone looking to make a change in their life. We have gone through situations that no one anticipated, like the pandemic. It affected the family, work, and emotional condition of many people. It is difficult to overcome these catastrophes as individuals, but as a group, we can make improvements. The book is written from a positive and enlightening perspective. It shows that change in society is a collective responsibility. Sometimes it may seem that the world is corrupt, but we have the choice to be better and set an example for our loved ones.

In Building High Trust CommUNITY: Lessons Learned from the Past and the Year 2020, authors Pamela Shockley – Zalabak and Sherwyn Morreale bring forth issues affecting society, how the past has influenced current events, the status quo, building communities, and living in harmony. The authors passionately write about a myriad of topics that affect the average citizen, as they offer solutions to some societal problems. This insightful book is profound and will encourage readers to develop a stronger value for all life and instill a sense of unity in themselves. The authors write using simple language, phrases, and words that are easy to comprehend as they hope to reach readers of all ages. There is plenty of history discussed in this book. The history aspect is my favorite part of the book as the authors point out past historical events’ impact on shaping our future. Pamela Shockley – Zalabak & Sherwyn Morreale write about the tragedy that was the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the civil war, the great depression, and the January 6 Insurrection, among many other events. I enjoyed going through the analysis by the authors as it provided me a different perspective than I had previously seen. The authors are not just great at narration but also great at explaining even the most complex subjects in a manner that the average reader can grasp. Building trust takes work. The authors discuss why most people do not understand the magnitude of trust in communities despite them thinking they are trustworthy. I love that the authors take their time in explaining trust as a virtue and how a dependable community is appealing. Chapter two has everything one needs to understand trust and why it matters. The explanations they give are short but deep enough to make one identify with the discussion. I appreciate the authors for talking about their first-hand experiences when discussing certain subjects. Through their eyes, I understood why inequality is still a significant issue in the world and why vices like racism, nepotism, and prejudice are still rampant. In addition, the lack of access to basic needs like healthcare and education is still a crisis even in the world’s biggest democracy is something to be concerned about. What I enjoyed most about the authors’ writing is their ability to direct the reader tword reflection on their daily experiences. In addition, I appreciate the author preaching about love, kindness, and compassion even amidst the pandemic and the chaos witnessed. Building High Trust CommUnNTY is an educational book about politics, economic conditions, and these things’ impact on US citizens. Readers learn how to build trust, be organized, and practice self-reflection, among other things, in the most demonstrative approach.

Building High-Trust CommUNITY: Lessons Learned from the Past and the Year 2020 is a powerful focus on trust and the forces which have influenced a much-divided America in the last few years. Unlike other surveys of the roots of this divide, Pamela Shockley-Zalabak and Sherwyn Morreale analyze how basic trust is developed, promoted, or disassembled with an eye to showing how communities not only build, but are broken. Trust begins at home, and so do the authors, analyzing the values, teachings, and influences that move from personal circles to societal incarnations. From building high-trust relationships at home to moving into the workplace and beyond, the authors consider various forces that both support the goal of openness and honesty or work against it. Perhaps most significant of all is an attention to accountability and behaviors involved in trust-building which support notable contributions in society and encourage new contributors to the process. Lest readers think this involves idealistic, unrealistic thinking, the authors offer portraits of success stories and individual action to support these ideals: "The first question is, what really needs to change around us? Large or small, what is stuck? Where would we like to make a difference in our community? Can we commit to becoming a part of even one small effort in our neighborhood, place of worship, school, civic organization, or entire community? What type of trust-building would it take to bring about change? We want to provide an illustration of a couple who had an idea that has grown over the years and has made a tremendous impact, not only in the community where your authors live, but in other communities throughout the nation." The call to action provided in this book's examples, stories, and words of wisdom empower individuals to work with and for the process of positive change, asking: "Have we held ourselves accountable to make even small change?" In an ideal situation, there would not be "try." There would be "do or don't do." Do read Building High-Trust CommUNITY. It offers the examples key to rebuilding community-based strengths, and is especially highly recommended for libraries looking for solid activist reading that link ideals to action to concretely address real community issues.