Book Talk to be held May 7

“Small Great Things,” a novel by bestselling author Jodi Picoult, is Book Talk’s choice for its March 7 discussion at Donald W. Reynolds Community Center and Library, 1515 W. Main St. in Durant.

Leading the 7 p.m. discussion is Jane Hicks, who taught in the business school of Southeastern Oklahoma State University and is now retired.

Book Talk’s meetings are always open to the public, and everyone is welcome.

The book’s author poses a moral dilemma involving an African American woman, a labor-and-delivery nurse, and a family of White supremacists. The nurse, Ruth, has been instructed not to go near an infant born to a White couple, at the father’s request.

Ruth is alone in the nursery when the baby goes into cardiac distress. Her dilemma is over whether to assist the infant or follow her “notouch“ orders from the hospital administrators.

The case goes to court in a drama that illustrates the nuances of power and race. The author writes from the points of view of Ruth, of the young White public defender in the court case, and of the parents of the infant.

Picoult somehow does this with great empathy for all the characters and does it in ways that will challenge readers to examine their own ideas and prejudices.

Hicks is a native of Durant. She has worked as a CPA in Utah, a corporate director based in Colorado, an entrepreneur in California and Florida, and, most recently, taught for a decade in the business school at SOSU, her first alma mater.

She characterizes herself as “a former Republican” who now belongs to the Bryan County Federation of Democratic Women. She is also a member of the board of Durant’s Reynolds Library.