I get asked somewhat regularly what I am reading or for some recommendations. In 2019 I have a goal to read a bunch of the books that I aquired over 2018 but never read. I also have a goal to re-read some of the books that I feel I reference more frequently in my work as a spiritual director and coach.
My first reads of 2019 reflected an odd mix of brokeness and hope. Did not intend for that to happen, but that’s the big theme of week one.
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer
Palmer is a fellow that I decided I wanted to get to know more in 2019. I picked up a bunch of his books in 2018, but this was the first one I read. Vocation and identity is a topic of curiosity for me for some time now. He has a great clarity and honesty to his understandings and his own life. One section of this work, which I was not expecting, but feel really benefited by is when he dives into thoughts and experiences on depression. Grateful for that. Not a long read, which I appreciate. His writing fits my sentiment that your thoughts can usually be captured in about 150 pages. Go beyond that and you are repeating yourself, a lot.
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown
This was my first re-read of the year. I have been walking with Brene’s work for a couple of years now and reference her ALL THE TIME. I really feel she has one of the most needed messages for our society today. I still think this is a great book and everyone should read it. But having worked some of her other books since originally discovering this book, I am debating to myself if this is her most important book. The bullet lists & definitions make absobing a rather nuance practice/work a little easier to conceptualize. That may be it’s best gift to helping folks start down this journey.
Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamott
It has been a long while since I have read any Anne Lamott (think, Traveling Mercies, which I may add to a re-read list after this book). Was not sure what to expect as no one that I talk books with regularly had mentioned this one in conversations. The, “You should read….” statement.
This is the book I shall hope to write one day and it is written in a way that I imagine I would write it. Anne moves quickly through thoughts and bounces in with interjected information that the whole thing is quite a ride. But it is fun and, dare I say, hopeful. Since it is a recent publication she has a lot of relevant references to today’s world. For someone like me who reads, what seems to be, older books having fresh references is actually kind of shocking.
Anne brings to this her wonderful framing of words and phrases to speak of herself and her self-awareness. It is raw in that way. I can only hope to be able to speak so well of myself and my world around me.
That is it for the start of 2019. I did enjoy all three of these. They bring you up, hold you up, and they allow you to go down and be okay being down. Which, in our ebbs and flows of daily life, is a real gift.
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