This week, Corban Addison, the best selling author of A Walk Across the Sun and The Tears of Dark Water, releases his fourth book looking at human trafficking. Unlike his previous books, A Harvest of Thorns takes an in-depth look at the complex problem of forced labor in global supply chains, telling the stories of characters whose lives are interconnected through the labor abuses occurring in one company’s apparel supply chain.
KnowTheChain Project Director, Kilian Moote, will partake in a discussion alongside a book release event at Grace Farms Foundation on Saturday, January 28th. The following summary can be found on the event page:
“The book opens in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where a garment factory burns to the ground, claiming the lives of hundreds of workers, mostly young women. Amid the rubble, a bystander captures a heart-stopping photograph—a teenage girl lying in the dirt, her body broken by a multi-story fall, and over her mouth a mask of fabric bearing the label of one of America’s largest retailers, Presto Omnishops Corporation.
Eight thousand miles away at Presto’s headquarters in Virginia, Cameron Alexander, the company’s long-time general counsel, watches the media coverage in horror, wondering if the damage can be contained. When the photo goes viral, fanning the flames of a decades old controversy about sweatshops, labor rights, and the ethics of globalization, he launches an investigation into the disaster that will reach further than he could ever imagine—and threaten everything he has left in the world.”
The event is open to the public and will include a reading of A Harvest of Thorns followed by a discussion with the author. Those that are unable to attend the event can tune into the live stream.
A review of A Harvest of Thorns can be read here. Additional information about Corban Addison’s work can be found on his website.