The Book Report by Rebecca Traver - Our Online Bookshop Curator

Live with the knowing
that you are Priceless.
That you are Lovely.
That you are a Delight.
That you are a Light.
Live with the knowing
that you are Irreplaceable.

~Kayil Crow

As the wildflowers in my Summer garden come into glorious full bloom, so too do I find myself opening to inspiration and growth with a willing heart, mind, and soul. In the spirit of that process, I have gathered a powerful selection of books to align with the sacred energies of expansion, connection, and development.

Let’s begin with three books by Kayil Crow York - Rose & Thorns, Bleeding Caverns, and Brave Soul. Here we find tales of journeying through the trials of pain, loss, love and healing. We are reminded to not give up on ourselves…that there is victory to be experienced after the pain and healing that changes us with acceptance and forgiveness. If you’re longing to feel in the company of someone who gets how personal transformation works (and doesn’t), these are for you.

Swear Words & Love Notes is a collection of poetry by American poet P.T. Berkey in which he writes of love, imagination, beauty, heartbreak, and adventure. When we’re feeling in the thick of things, sometimes it’s only poetry that can find a way into whatever unyielding circumstance we find ourselves in, allowing us much needed space to breathe and restore our senses of balance and purpose.

Here are a handful of brilliant memoirs to serve as inspiration and compassionate resonance for wherever you may find yourself along the path:

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I absolutely love Little and Often: A Memoir by Trent Preszler. It’s a courageous account of bereavement and a reflection on the complexities of familial inheritance. Between his past and his present, and between America's heartland and its coasts, Preszler shows how one can achieve reconciliation through the healing power of creativity.

Catherine Raven’s Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship is reminiscent of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard in that it offers in intimate detail the gifts of connection between human beings and wildlife; in this case between a young woman seeking direction and purpose while living on an isolated plot of land in Montana and a mangy-looking fox who keeps showing up on her property every afternoon at 4:15. From the fox she learns the single most important thing about loneliness - that we are never alone when we are connected to the natural world.

No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by actor and advocate Michael J. Fox shares personal stories and observations about illness and health, aging, the strength of family and friends, and how our perceptions about time affect the way we approach mortality. Thoughtful and moving, but with Fox's trademark sense of humor, his book provides a vehicle for contemplation about our lives, our loves, and our losses.

Thanks for Waiting: The Joy (& Weirdness) of Being a Late Bloomer by Doree Sharir explores the enormous pressures we feel, especially for women, to hit particular milestones at certain ages and times and how we might choose to reframe what it means to be a late bloomer. She writes about everything from dating to infertility, to how friendships evolve as one gets older, to why being pregnant at forty-one is unexpectedly freeing - all with the goal of appreciating the lives we’ve lived so far and the lives our hearts and souls aspire to realize.

Mark Nepo’s Drinking from the River of Light: The Life of Expression is a passionate intertwined collection of essays and poems about what it means to live a creative, expressive life. In Nepo's words, "This book is meant to be experienced and journeyed with." With dozens of journaling prompts and personal exercises meant to enliven the reader's creative instincts.

Three Simple Lines: A Writer's Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku by one of the world’s foremost writing teachers, Natalie Goldberg, is a beautiful inquiry into the reading and origins of the classic Japanese poetic form of haiku. She highlights the history of the form, dating back to the seventeenth century; shows why masters such as Basho and Issa are so revered; discovers Chiyo-ni, an important woman haiku master; and provides insight into writing and reading haiku. A fellow seeker who travels to Japan to explore the birthplace of haiku, Goldberg revels in everything she encounters, including food and family, painting and fashion, frogs and ponds. She also experiences and allows readers to share in the spontaneous and profound moments of enlightenment and awakening that haiku promises.

Another book celebrating the healing properties of creative expression is Make Your Art No Matter What: Moving Beyond Creative Hurdles by Beth Pickens. Simply put, if you’re an artist (and, we all are), then you need to make your art. That’s not an overstatement - it’s a fact; if you stop doing your creative work, your quality of life is diminished. But, sometimes, we lose sight of this truth and become side-tracked by other things. This book guides us back to the creative path - with kindness, practicality, and how to work constructively with obstacles and setbacks.

I’ll wrap up this report up with The Comfort Book by Matt Haig - the title of which pretty much delivers everything I’m longing for these days. As a fan of his work (The Midnight Library, especially), I can’t seem to get enough of his warmth and reassurance, reminding us to slow down and appreciate the beauty and unpredictability of our extraordinary everyday existence.

I am starting over again -
it is not the first time,
and I know it won’t be the last.
I am just learning
to be okay with that.

-P.T. Berkey

Please visit our online Bookshop to see our full selection of lists and titles.

May you be inspired, enriched, and delighted by what you find here.