The Death and Resurrection of Liberty Island Books
A new beginning is coming…
By David M. Swindle
For the last six months Liberty Island Books has been on hiatus while the editorial team and I developed plans for a relaunch. This has taken longer than the initial weeks anticipated because on September 16, 2021 I was the victim of criminal violence which has resulted in often debilitating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms. Efforts to heal and pursue justice for the crimes committed against me have slowed down plans to begin publishing new titles. However, at this point I am ready to announce how we will move forward and the new team who will be aiding us in doing so.
Liberty Island on Hiatus While I’m in Painful Double Mourning
By David M. Swindle
This is just to inform everyone that further books and website content here at Liberty Island are going to be on hiatus for the next couple weeks while I mourn the deaths of my friends Tamara Wilhite and Jack Saltzberg and figure out what I am morally required to do in response to their unexpected passings.
I am in a lot of pain, exacerbated to an unimaginable level over the weekend because of the cruelty of many people in this right-wing media movement – a cause which I have dedicated myself since 2009 at significant personal cost – who seem to believe that they are so right in their political ideology it makes them morally entitled to harass random strangers who are in mourning. I could not have expected this level of abuse from people in my own movement under these circumstances. This has been a real wake up call to me and I’m now going to have to add this new painful experience to what I must consider as I try and figure out how to move forward and what I’m going to do with the rest of my life now.
September 20, 2021 update: Liberty Island’s Associate Editor Jamie Wilson has now been promoted to Vice President and Managing Editor to assist with developing plans for moving the company forward.
March 20, 2022 update: Plans for Liberty Island moving forward have been announced here.
Finding Your Purpose
Discovering God wants you to do helps you flourish, no matter what specific tasks you’re doing.
By Chris Queen
I’ve known Mitchell Thompson just about his whole life. He’s the son of one of our pastors at Eastridge; in fact, his dad Gary was my youth minister through most of my middle and high school years.
Mitchell was a good kid growing up, and he still is. He’s always been witty and personable, and he became a championship wrestler who still wrestles in college. Above all, he has answered the call into ministry.
POEM: Looking for the Republic
By Michael Lind
We’re proud to be featuring Michael Lind’s work at Liberty Island. This is the sixth of eight poems.
David Copperfield and the Timelessness of the Classics
By Alex Himebaugh
I finished reading Dickens’ classic, David Copperfield, for the first time and was struck by its ideas of gender equality, especially in regards to marriage. It surprised me to see Dickens’ respect towards women and the criticism of an unequal marriage in a book written in 1850. But maybe it shouldn’t have. Equality isn’t a new idea; it’s a timeless truth. The classics are considered great because of the truths they hold, so it makes sense to find true ideas, even the idea of equality, in them. Because of this, we should listen to the classics instead assuming we know better than them.
Not Your Average Faith-Based Entertainment
‘The Chosen’ is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
By Chris Queen
If I told you I had a Christian television series to recommend to you, I wouldn’t blame you for bristling. After all, the phrase “faith-based entertainment” conjures up images of the two dozen God’s Not Dead films or the endless Left Behind reboots.
Christian movies and series have a bad reputation for a reason. They’re terrible because they sacrifice storytelling and artistry for earnest, over-simplified portrayals of faith. Shoestring budgets are the norm as well, which doesn’t help.
RIP Tamara Wilhite (1976-2021)
By David M. Swindle
Tamara Wilhite passed away on August 19, 2021. She was 44 years old. Tamara served as Liberty Island’s Senior Columnist, with her longstanding weekly column running each Friday, the archive of which can be viewed here.
Time Enough For Science Fiction
A New Blogging Series Exploring the Genre
By David M. Swindle
In preparation for our next series of books that we’re publishing, I’m going to get my head into the classics and key authors of science fiction and blog through it.
