Community-Wide Book Club
Woman of Light
A dazzling epic of betrayal, love, and fate that spans five generations of an Indigenous Chicano family in the American West, from the author of the National Book Award Finalist Sabrina & Corina.
Luz “Little Light” Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, is left to fend for herself after her older brother, Diego, a snake charmer and factory worker, is run out of town by a violent white mob.
As Luz navigates 1930’s Denver on her own, she begins to have visions that transport her to her Indigenous homeland in the nearby Lost Territory. Luz recollects her ancestors’ origins, how her family flourished and how they were threatened. She bears witness to the sinister forces that have devastated her people and their homelands for generations.
In the end, it is up to Luz to save her family stories from disappearing into oblivion.
Project Hope, in partnership with Townie Books, invited ALL BOOK CLUBS in the Crested Butte and Gunnison communities to read the same book together during the month of October (2022). Finding community and strength in storytelling can play a key role in both individual and community healing from gender-based violence.
Tea Leaf Ceremony
A community-wide gathering and discussion in recognition of the book was facilitated by Townie Books and hosted by Rumor’s Coffee and Tea House.
10% of sales of Woman of Light at Townie Books will be donated to Project Hope. Purchase here!
Praise for Woman of Light
“This indelible novel shines its big light on the Lopez family so brightly that I could draw a map of their breath. An absolutely glorious novel.”
Emma Straub, author of All Adults Here
“Sometimes you just step into a book and let it wash over you, like you’re swimming under a big, sparkling night sky.”
Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere & Everything I Never Told You
“An unparalleled generational saga . . . one of the most potent voices in contemporary Latino and Native American literature.”
BeLatina
