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Arlene Peregrin's avatar

Your book arrived 9/02 and I have been enjoying it very much. I will definitely suggest it for our summer book club read. Would love to have some questions from you to facilitate our discussion. Congratulations on a great book!

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Grace Hoerr's avatar

I’m still waiting on Amazon to send! In the meantime, I’m bringing the description of your book to our intergenerational faith-sharing/book club. Keep ya posted!

As an aside, I’ve been doing bingo and yesterday was so struck by my hesitancy to ask a neighbor to help me carpool my daughter to pre-k. I knew it was the time for my big bingo move but I was totally stuck, not wanting to be a burden. Maybe awareness is the first step to recovery. I’m so excited to read!

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

You have to have the desire before you make the leap! Here's hoping for next time. Let me know when you get up the courage to ask <3

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Nafeesa Dawoodbhoy's avatar

A few friends and I are already planning on reading the book together once we get our copies! I love your ideas but I would definitely be partial to recipe cards or postcard replies to questions! All would be fun and very excited to read it. Is Chicago one of your stops on the book tour? And if not is there any way I could look into a way to host you - I’m thinking I could reach out to some indie bookstores who might be interested or the Athanaeum?

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

I'm not coming to Chicago in the fall but I'd be open to adding a stop in the spring! My email is leah dot libresco at gmail.

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Nafeesa Dawoodbhoy's avatar

Sent an email!

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Alyssa PB's avatar

Both my husband and I bought your book as a surprise for the other and we just received our twin copies in the mail! 🤣

I’d love to have a book club with just my husband (hi Aidan 👋🏼 ) and vote for the question and postcard answer. You meant literally a postcard, and not a figurative, brief length of response, right??? An actual postcard with your answer would be awesome. 😄

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

Yeah, a literal postcard in my bad handwriting :)

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

Would you send me a pic of your two books? I'd love to share it. <3 I'm leah DOT libresco at gmail.

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Caitlin Estes's avatar

I, too, received a rogue book! Love it!!

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Caitlin Estes's avatar

Any way to tag you on Instagram? I just talked about the book in my stories and included a hashtag for #thedignityofdependence :)

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

Haha, I am not on instagram alas. I am all text, minimal pics.

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Jordan Gandhi's avatar

I love the postcard idea!

I’m mostly commenting to say that my 6, 4, and 2 year old are also in love with the Les Mis soundtrack even though we have to skip some songs. We have also been letting them watch the movie with the skipping of some parts. The 6 year old wanted to perform the whole thing so we had to write shorter versions and rope in the grandparents to play different parts (we only did the first half).

The two year old is still going around “LOOK DOWN, LOOK DOWN.”

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

Which are your skips? Right now, we do everything but “Lovely Ladies” and “Dog Eat Dog”

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Jordan Gandhi's avatar

Lovely ladies is a definite skip. We have been doing the movie so it doesn’t include Dog Eat Dog. We skip Master of the House (“my sons of whores”) and skip just the ending of At the End of the Day.

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

Yeah, "Master of the House" is gonna get us in trouble one day. But it introduces the Thenardiers very well (who have now displaced King Henry VIII as the face of evil for our kids)

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Dianna's avatar

My copy did arrive but I'm away helping a friend who's going through chemo - and I'm stupidly having trouble letting myself ask her husband to get me groceries or let her order me DoorDash (as she's not eating normally). I've thought about that give and take of your bingo board planning! So I look forward to reading it when I get back.

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

Post here when you *do* ask for help and I will give you a text high five!

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Dianna's avatar

Alright! I did in fact let her get me dinner :)

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

Kudos!

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Colleen's avatar

Your book arrived yesterday! I’m very excited to start reading it.

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Kate D.'s avatar

My friend got his pre-order book and I haven't yet gotten mine and I was confused since I thought this was early! Adventures in publishing and shipping!

I'll book club for sure.

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Kate D.'s avatar

Oh ho! My book did come and I hid it in the basement unopened thinking it was a present I got for my daughter that I didn't want her to see. It just said "Longleaf" on the package, which I didn't immediately connect with your book!

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

When I saw the preorder images people uploaded to get the bookmarks, I also was confused by Longleaf! I was like, is this a more bucolic Bookshop?

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Diane Story's avatar

I would absolutely appreciate discussion questions!

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Rand E Cutter's avatar

I want a printable list of discussion questions and a printable dependence BINGO!! Pleeeeeeease!!

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Elizabeth Burtman's avatar

Les Mis 10th Anniversary Dream Cast recording forever.

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Becca Devine's avatar

Fun! A handwritten recipe card would be 👌🏼 we would copy and share out among the book clubbers.

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Skylar Covich's avatar

Did you grow up with Les Mis? If I remember correctly you and I are pretty close in age and grew up in Long Island. My mom got really in to it after seeing it on Broadway, and I'm told it helped me learn to walk; especially Do You Hear the People Sing. It was interesting understanding the story better as we revisited it every year or so.

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

Oh that’s lovely! I grew up in Nassau county and Les Mis was the first Broadway show I ever saw.

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Margaret's avatar

Oooh, I'm from Nassau too. We went on a high school chorus trip to Les Mis.

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Kaitlyn DeYoung's avatar

Thank you for addressing the rogue books phenomenon - I was also confused when I received my copy in the mail yesterday, but so excited to read it. I actually thought it might've been an intentional semi-early release since I had indicated I would be interested in hosting a book club on the rewards bookmarks form :)

I love the idea of sharing a few favorite recipes! My husband is more comfortable in the kitchen and consequently does more of the "loving people through food," but I'm slowly working my way [back] out of my head and into cooking and baking for people.

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

A greater wisdom than my own sent it early!

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Jennifer L.W. Fink's avatar

Mine came yesterday. How frustrating that you don't have yours yet!

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Leah Libresco Sargeant's avatar

My publisher says they’ll expedite

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