“When Joann Castle chose to devote her life to the community, rather than a convent, she stepped into the epicenter of political struggle in Detroit. Her unique perspective as a white woman offers a searing, unflinching account of black and white political activism in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The social justice in the marrow of her bones inspires a memoir that lacks neither truth nor passion. It’s another Detroit story we all need to know.”
–Herb Boyd, author of “Black Detroit: A People’s History of Self-Determination”
“If one wants to understand how a white Catholic working-class girl, who grew up in a relatively conservative, racially insensitive environment, became a political activist, a crusader for social and racial justice, and later a committed revolutionary—this poignantly written, sensitive memoir is a must-read. This is a story about America, slated to be a classic of American literature.”
–Michael Goldfield, Author of “The Color of Politics: Race and the Mainsprings of American Politics and The Decline of Organized Labor in the United States
“Joann’s life story, which unfolds during one of the most intense times in Detroit history, will resonate with social justice mothers struggling with racial injustices today as well as inspire the activists of tomorrow.”
–Rashida Tlaib, Community and Environmental Activist, Former State Representative, and Recipient of the 2017 President’s Award from the Audubon Society
“What My Left Hand Was Doing is powerful proof that while we do not choose the times we live in, we do choose how to respond to them. Joann captures rarely documented responses to the black revolution of the 1960s. She shares the courageous choices she made and the spiritual, personal, familial, religious, and political challenges these choices created . . . Joann’s life gives substances and grit to the words of Grace Lee Boggs: “These are the times to grow our souls.”
–Rich Feldman, James and Grace Lee Boggs Center
The Activist's Survival Guide 