The following was submitted by DVSAS

Book club

What if you had the power to create peace in your life, your relationships, and your community by connecting to a more open heart? What would that look like on a day-to-day basis?

Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services invites the community to join in an experimental support group. This journey will be guided by the companion book, “The Anatomy of Peace,” written by the Arbinger Institute. This eight-week long series will include discussion on the themes of this book combined with the integration of mind, heart, and body through creative outlets. Come be inspired by the intention to resolve that which lies deep within our hearts in order to return to a state of peace in our daily lives.

The “Out-of-the-Box” book club is free and open to the community. It will be held at the DVSAS Orcas office, located at 296 Main Street #201. Class starts Tuesday, Oct. 6, and will run every Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Space is limited, so call us at 376-5979 to sign up, or go online at www.dvsassanjuans.org.

Reading at the Grange

In support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, come join DVSAS on Oct. 10 for a reading of an award-winning play by Nicola Pearson entitled, “Carried by the Current.”

This staged reading will take place at the Grange and you are invited to come and watch actors bring life to this incredible story of success and learn about the visionary women behind it. The reading will be held at 7 p.m. Entry is free; donations accepted.

Based on true events of the late 1800s, “Carried by the Current” tells the story of a group of women from Belton, Texas, who come together to create the first safe house for battered women in the country. The women, all from wealthy white families, took on menial jobs to raise money for the fund. They claimed that their religion – sanctificationism – forbade them from taking their husbands’ money and sharing their beds, which earned them the nickname of “Sanctified Sisters” and led the townspeople to take up arms against them, in support of their husbands. Eventually the women moved in together, and from there they went on to great success as independent business people.