Welcome to the first edition of thoughtful Thursdays! After Workout Wednesdays, it’s really important to balance our physical health with our mental health. Each Thursday, staff from The Echo will share their “book of the week.” These picks will range from nonfiction to fiction and from picture books to novels. Let us know if you were inspired to start one of these books and how you enjoyed it! 

Maddy recommends Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow!

Reporter Ronan Farrow writes about the process of investigating, reporting, and eventually publishing the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, which pushed the Me Too movement forward. 

I read Catch and Kill over February break and absolutely could not put it down, and Weinstein’s recent sentencing makes it more timely than ever. Catch and Kill is a story of men using their power to silence women–Harvey Weinstein and other known assailants like Matt Lauer, yes, but also the men in charge at NBC and American Media Inc. who went to terrifying lengths to suppress women’s stories. More importantly, Catch and Kill is a story of how tenacity and bravery of reporters and of victims can, quite literally, change the world. Practically every single page contains revelations about the scheme to cover up Weinstein’s accusers that shocked me. Farrow was targeted by Black Cube spies, Weinstein’s lawyers claimed they were working against him, victims were contacted by scam journalists in order to try to put their stories to bed, and the executives at NBC pushed the fake narrative that Farrow hadn’t done enough reporting so that the story wouldn’t break. Perhaps due to the fact that this content felt too crazy to be real, Catch and Kill feels more like a thriller novel than nonfiction. I put the book down feeling repulsed by the extent of the corruption in networks like NBC and more convinced than ever that right can win.