Mind, Body, & Spirit from our 2019 Winter Newsletter

I highly recommend this book, even if I struggle to explain exactly why. It’s a cancer book that talks about everything but cancer, focusing instead on the painful rawness that so many other books pass by. She writes of that liminal space between the individual and the diagnosis, the array of changes a person goes through while retaining pieces of themselves even as others redefine them: survivor, patient, terminal. The book itself meanders through the hazy experience of decisions and pain before zooming out to look at the big picture of the motivation and success behind cancer treatment. It’s the sort of book I’d like to thank for allowing me to read it, and thank the author for sharing these words. - Rachel

This delightful book is hard to categorize. Written by Sasha Sagan, the daughter of astronomer Carl Sagan and writer-producer Ann Druyan, For Small Creatures is part memoir, part history, part science, and all heart. Raised by her famous parents as ethnically Jewish but not religious, Sasha Sagan was taught from a young age to find the miracle in the natural world that surrounded her. When her own daughter was born, Sagan was committed to continuing this way of upbringing but wanted to make sure that her daughter also had a sense of ritual and meaning that Sagan herself felt so deeply inside but had a hard time naming. Reflecting on nature, history, science, art, and literature, Sagan tells the story of how across eons and cultures, humans have always developed a way to mark the nature of time’s passing, of life, of death, and of the phenomenon of feeling. In charming prose, she offers a wonderful way to find meaning in everyday life.  - S.M.C.

The Astro Poets are Alex Dimitrov and Dorothea Lasky, two accomplished poets whose humor and insight into all things astrology have propelled them to half a million followers on Twitter. With compatibility guides, playlists, and poems, Astro Poets provides a frame of reference for those who are new to astrology and dives deep for those who are well-versed in their moon and rising signs. Readers can expect to find out why Mariah Carey is the quintessential Aries, what to expect when texting a Pisces, and why Scorpios are the way that they are. Dimitrov and Lasky have written a refreshing, entertaining book of astrology that’s sure to delight anyone who has ever asked someone for their exact time of birth. - Billy

Pema Chödrön is not afraid of difficult emotions and she wants you not to be, either. In Welcoming the Unwelcome, Chödrön offers an array of insights that blend beautifully with contemporary reality and help us to deepen the experience of living by cultivating regard for those around us and practicing acceptance for things just as they are. This is complex and surprising work, yet at its heart it actually is fresh and simple. You won’t know until you try it, so go ahead—start today, and make the world a better place. - Chorel

A book for scholars, but also for seekers of justice and humanity. Karen Armstrong’s writing is accessible and engaging, carrying the reader deep into ancient history and human development via the nigh-universal concept of sacred texts, to a vital premise, showing how the modern extremist occupation of these traditions runs counter to their original creation, intent, and understanding. Armstrong’s new work is packed with knowledge and is oh-so-satisfying for lovers of history, theology, and social justice. - Jocelyn

Felicia Day, geek goddess extraordinaire, is on a mission of creativity, specifically to help each of us unlock our imagination and finally work on that project we’ve been putting off. Personally, I am a professional procrastinator. I tend to think up great, crazy ideas and then do absolutely nothing with them. This book gave me permission and the tools I needed to start making them a reality. Take this book and get to work (but, like, in a fun way). - Ivy

For anyone who wants to know how to break the bad habits and keep the good ones, this is the book you need. It’s all here; the stories, the research, the experiments, the path to a new you! Professor Wendy Wood takes our most vulnerable bad habits and deals with them head on and addresses the psychology behind accountability and serial failures. If knowledge is power, then powerful good habits are just on the other side of this great read. - Jenny