Susan Carol McCarthy Discusses The Impact of Her Novel, Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands, on Schools and Students

Award-winning author Susan Carol McCarthy's debut novel Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands has been embraced by both educators and librarians due to its historical accuracy. Inspired by true events surrounding her father and his fight against race crimes in central Florida in 1951, the novel has been placed on required reading lists in schools and universities. It has also been selected by many large libraries for their community reading programs. McCarthy attributes this widespread attention and acceptance to word of mouth. To assist educators, she created a SuperSummary study guide that includes chapter summaries, character commentaries, and discussion topics as a supplement to the book. McCarthy's hope that her father's story and courage would inspire others to fight any injustice that they witness has been realized, which has been incredibly rewarding. Students have protested and organized events aimed at fighting against bullying and hate crimes as a result of reading her critically acclaimed novel.