Join us for the monthly KT Book Club Meeting! We’ll meet in our office in Sun City West for light refreshments and a lively blend of book discussion and social time. With a focus on books set in the American Southwest, we’ll showcase a new book every month that inspires further exploration. East Valley people, do not hesitate to reserve your seat. Free transportation will be provided to Mesa, Scottsdale and Phoenix participants, on a first come, first serve basis. Meeting begins: 10:15 a.m.
Depart: Mesa 9 a.m. Scts 9:30 a.m. Phx 9:45 a.m. R: 1 p.m.
October Title
The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman
by: Margot Mifflin
2019 Tucson Weekly “40 Essential Arizona Books” pick
2014 One Book Yuma selection
2010 Best of the Best from the University Presses (ALA) selection
2010 Caroline Bancroft History Prize Finalist
2009 Southwest Book of the Year
In 1851 Olive Oatman was a 13-year-old pioneer traveling west toward Zion with her Mormon family. Within a decade she was a white Indian with a chin tattoo, caught between cultures. The Blue Tattoo tells the harrowing story of this forgotten heroine of frontier America.
Orphaned when her family was brutally killed by Yavapai Indians, Oatman lived as a slave to her captors for a year before being traded to the Mohave, who tattooed her face and raised her as their own. She was fully assimilated and perfectly happy when, at 19, she was ransomed back to white society. She became an instant celebrity, but the price of fame was high, and the pain of her ruptured childhood lasted a lifetime.
Based on historical records, including letters and diaries of Oatman’s friends and relatives, The Blue Tattoo is the first book to examine her life, from her childhood in Illinois – including the massacre, her captivity, and her return to white society – to her later years as a wealthy banker’s wife in Texas.
Northwest Valley:
Sundome Plaza
13547 W. Camino Del Sol
Sun City West, AZ 85375
Located in the heart of Sun City West at the Sundome Plaza Shopping Center.
Scottsdale:
La Quinta Inn & Suites
8888 E Shea Blvd
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
The Scottsdale pickup location can be easily reached via AZ 101/Pima Freeway. Exit the freeway at Shea. The La Quinta Hotel is located at the northeast corner of AZ 101 and Shea Blvd.
Phoenix:
Paradise Valley Community Center
17402 N. 40th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85032
The Paradise Valley Community Center is easily found on 40th Street, north of Bell Road. No overnights. No Late-nights
Mesa:
Mesa Doubletree Hotel
1011 W. Holmes Ave
Mesa, AZ 85210
This is the Fiesta Mall region, and the Hilton Hotel is easily viewed from the U.S. 60/Superstition Freeway. Exit the freeway at Alma School and head east to Holmes. Park and wait for the bus at the west end of the hotel parking lot.