Juan E. Méndez Book Award for Human Rights in Latin America

The Juan E. Méndez Book Award for Human Rights in Latin America honors the leadership and legacy of Juan E. Méndez, a champion of justice who has devoted his life to the defense of human rights. This is the fifteenth year of this prestigious award. The 2024 winner of the Méndez Book Award is "Still Life with Bones: Genocide, Forensics, and What Remains," by Alexa Hagerty. In the book, anthropologist Alexa Hagerty describes her work with forensic teams and victims' families to investigate crimes against humanity in Latin America. This beautifully written and richly researched story explores what science can tell us about the lives of the dead and the grief of the living for the loved ones they've lost. Hagerty is meticulous and unsparing in her exploration of the intricacies of finding, cataloging, and returning remains in Guatemala and Argentina, very different cultures united in loss and the yearning to recover the lives violently taken and uphold the rights of the dead and the obligations of mourning and the quest for justice. Reception starts at 5:00pm. Dr. Hagerty's talk starts at 6pm. Book signing starts at 7:00pm. Copies of "Still Life with Bones" can be purchased from The Regulator Bookstore on Ninth Street in Durham.