If you haven’t followed my silly book game, this roundup to an old wedding rhyme is a fun way for me to share what I’m reading with you.
These four books fell together randomly for me. They made their way into my life in different ways and at different times. I just happened to read them all simultaneously. They each invited me to consider this question: What is a flourishing life?
I loved these books. I’m glad I spent time with these authors and book characters.
Something Old…
The Life We Never Expected is not a new book — it was published in 2016. A friend of mine told me that she buys this book in bulk so she always has it around and hands it off along with a good bar of chocolate to friends who find themselves in a tough place. I immediately appreciated her practice of compassion and asked her to tell me more about the book. So she gave one to me.
This book tells the story of how the authors came to cope with, accept, and embrace the life they have raising two autistic children. It wasn’t the life they expected. However, they skillfully, gently invite us to rethink the ways we expect life will work, the ways we define “normal” and “success,” and what we assume having a flourishing life means. It is a powerful and beautiful book written by grace-filled, kind, and humble parents.
Inspired by my friend’s compassion, I also bought an extra copy to give to friends of mine that find themselves living a life they did not expect. I added some of my favorite chocolate to the package. I am grateful to my friend for her vision of compassion and her practice of generosity.
Something New…
The first in this fun series made my January roundup, and now the Vanderbeekers are back and full of mischief in the third book in this wonderful series. Once again, this family has a knack for finding trouble while sincerely desiring to be helpful. I laughed aloud more than once as I read the book. I deeply appreciate the way that these children have a safe place to learn, and make mistakes, sometimes fail, and try again all in a context of love and support. Glaser shows over and over that the real rescue in these books is community.
Something Borrowed…
Right now, I’m researching grief and thinking about the ways that grief can lead us back into life for a project I’m working on. So I checked out A Hole in the World by Amanda Held Opelt from my library. In this book, Amanda introduces us to the history of grief rituals and explains their purpose, simultaneously exploring her own deep grief over the untimely loss of her sister (author Rachel Held Evans), her miscarriages, and the loss of her grandmother. It is a raw, tender book. Opelt is a talented author in her own right, and she gives us a book that is full of truth and courage. Grief invites us to consider what makes life precious. This book helps us through that journey.
Something Blue…
Let Nothing Trouble You compiled by Heidi S. Hess is a daily devotional guide with passages from Scripture, Teresa of Avila’s writings, and song lyrics. I loved working through this each day. Hess helped me hear Teresa’s passages in singularity. I heard her in a fresh, new way. Teresa invites us into a life that is prayer. Her work helps us identify what to hold onto, what to let go of, and how to grow in humility.
She is a 16th century mystic, so her language may be unfamiliar, and she writes from her Catholic faith so there may be things that sound different to you. But her devotion to Christ and a life of prayer is foundational to her faith and as relevant today as it was five hundred years ago.
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One of the things I love about reading is the way it immerses me in something outside my experience, while also helping me clarify what my own experience is. Grief, unexpected events, and community are all threads in a flourishing life. This is the stuff of the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, who are merciful, and who are peacemakers. We will face loss. We face things we did not envision for ourselves. We need help. We cannot flourish if we refuse to grieve, be merciful, and accept help. Through it all, a life of prayer grounds us in the deepest reality of all – God’s loving presence. We are never alone.
Why do you like to read?