There are great works of literature that may not fit the criteria for ‘Walk with Light,’ or perhaps the text has mature language or themes that are not ideal for class discussion, even though individual students may possess maturity and interest for such works.

For example, Octavia Butler published her short story, Speech Sounds, in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine in 1983. Speech Sounds tells the story of a woman surviving a mysterious pandemic that robs people of speech and even the ability to read (or to remember what they read in the past).

Although the story’s influence can be found in many other works of literature and film, it contains mature language and themes of sexuality, and mentions violent acts like sexual assault and even suicide, in a post-apocalyptic dystopian future.

It remains an excellent story that is worth reading, with appropriate content warnings and discussion of the story and it’s context.