Hello friends,

Left Bank Books is no stranger to controversy. No stranger to protest. This store was born out of protest and is made of people who have fought to be where we are and who we are. It's not always easy and it's sometimes not popular, but the common thread always is the same as our tagline - literacy and justice for all. We are a mission based bookstore, and that mission guides what we do.

We scheduled an event with Jeanine Cummins to discuss her new novel, American Dirt. In our minds, we were promoting a topical book written by someone who has deep St. Louis connections. It's a gripping story about a woman and her child fleeing violence by trying to get to America. Literacy and justice.

We sincerely believed it would be an opportunity to have an overdue public conversation about the deplorable actions of our country towards people at the border.

We sincerely believed Cummins novel was as good a starting place as any for folks who have not been fully aware of the issues and suffering. That the book could put a human face on the headlines.