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Recommended Reading and Watching During Self Isolation

by Herb Geraghty



If you are one of the millions of people practicing responsible social distancing right now (as you should be!) during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have found yourself with some extra free time at home. To help prevent boredom in these uncertain times we’ve decided to share some media recommendations for those interested in stories that relate to human rights and dignity. This list is taken from Aimee Murphy and Mary Grace Coltharp’s 2018 book, A Consistent Life: The Young Advocate's Guide to Living Peace and Justice Daily.


These stories do not all have morals to them that align with the Consistent Life Ethic, but they do offer a compelling launch pad for reflection and discourse.


Books and Short Stories:


  1. One Dress One Year by Susanna Foth Aughtmon (human trafficking)

  2. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut (war, sci-fi)

  3. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (nuclear warfare, sci-fi)

  4. Consistently Opposing Killing edited by Stephen Zunes, Rachel MacNair (Consistent Life Ethic)

  5. Inside America’s Concentration Camps by James Dickerson (war, racism, torture, history)

  6. Human Embryos, Human Beings by Maureen L. Condic and Samuel B. Condic (embryology, abortion, ESCR)

  7. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin (dystopian, philosophy, the value of a single human life)

  8. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. (post-apocalyptic, sci-fi)

  9. 1984 by George Orwell (dystopian, political fiction)

  10. Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (sci-fi, dystopian)

  11. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (dystopian, genetic modification)

  12. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (“designer babies”, “savior siblings,” consequentialism, suicide, and medical ethics)

  13. Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut (war)

  14. Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown (community, rehumanization)

  15. Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut (dystopian, sci-fi, human dignity and selfhood)

  16. Eight O’Clock Ferry to the Windward Side by Clive Stafford Smith (nonfiction, Guantanamo Bay)

Movies and TV shows:


  1. Fatal Flaws - from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

  2. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days -WWII, nonviolent resistance

  3. Band of Brothers - war miniseries that doesn’t glorify war (very gory)

  4. Children of Men - sci-fi, drama, infertility, the value of a child

  5. Arrival - sci-fi, drama, war, diplomacy, choosing life

  6. Minority Report - drama, fantasy, criminal justice

  7. Never Let Me Go - drama, dystopian, medical ethics, cloning

  8. Shawshank Redemption - prisons, justice, human dignity

  9. Hunchback of Notre Dame - racism, general pro-life themes

  10. My Sister’s Keeper -“designer babies”, medical/legal ethics

  11. Dollhouse -TV show, sci-fi, dehumanization, human traffick

  12. Me Before You - disability, assisted suicide, euthanasia (not a pro-life film, but good for discourse)

  13. A Beautiful Mind - mental illness, human dignity

  14. Wonder - disabilities, kindness, human dignity

  15. Gattaca - sci-fi, dystopian, “designer babies”, embryos

  16. Bella - abortion, the dignity of prisoners

  17. The Bucket List - drama, end of life, terminal illness

  18. Big Fish - drama, illness, end of life, human dignity

  19. Taxi to the Dark Side - documentary, torture, Bush admin

  20. Ghosts of Abu Ghraib - documentary, torture, Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison

  21. HUSH - documentary, abortion, breast cancer, mental health

  22. Pro-Life Feminist - short documentary, interviews 3 movement leaders, including Aimee Murphy the founder of Rehumanize International



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Disclaimer: The views presented in the Rehumanize Blog do not necessarily represent the views of all members, contributors, or donors. We exist to present a forum for discussion within the Consistent Life Ethic, to promote discourse and present an opportunity for peer review and dialogue.

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