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by Robin Wall Kimmerer Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings―asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass―offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return. -
by Mary Lyons WISDOM LESSONS, by Ojibwe Great-grandmother Mary Lyons, is the culmination of a lifetime steeped in indigenous spiritual traditions, as well as the proverbial school of hard knocks. At once plainspoken and lyrical, Grandmother Mary offers invaluable lessons for anyone interested in living in alignment with their higher self. A spiritual advisor, storyteller and wisdom keeper, she travels and teaches internationally, with a focus on healing children, families and communities from the negative effects of alcohol and drug addiction. After her own recovery, guided by her ancestors, she has dedicated her life to helping others, fostering and adopting many children with family problems, disabilities and fetal alcohol syndrome. -
by Jaiya John Jaiya John follows up his books Daughter Drink This Water, and, Freedom, with this aromatic delight for your soul. Fragrance After Rain is a sensitive, hopeful, intimate movement through your many seasons of tenderness, and the beautiful meaning and grace that grow from that fertile ground. If you love Rumi, Hafez, Gibran, and other classic mystic poets, here is your honey jar. This book is pregnant with balm and salve so personal and intuitively attuned, you will be certain the words were birthed just for you. Sustenance as you live through your personal moments, and through the collective moods of the world. Fragrance is a free flowing melody of petite stories and mystic whispers, a wildflower meadow you may enjoy wherever you lay yourself within it for a moment and breathe beautifully. These inspirational pieces are entirely liberated from chapters and sections, freely roaming, drifting on spirit breeze as they wish. Each word-bouquet is gathered and growing according to the sunlight, soil, and water of Love's orchestral conducting. Open this book, turn to a page, let your eyes arrive to any brief orchard of words, and allow your heart to taste the fruit and meet its craving. Whatever words you meet are the words you need in the moment. In this Fragrance story, the one who speaks, is spoken to, and is spoken about is you, BeLoved. All of this is you. This is a book of bright clouds in the sky of your life. Bringing you beauty, meaning, the downy reflection of sunlight, life-replenishing rain, and a sweet fragrance thereafter. Walk, dance, sing, and repose yourself through this aromatic pasture, and feel a peace that is both medicine and music for your soul. Be careful, dear Lover. If you sip these words slowly and savor their essence, you may become a mystic. -
by Greta S. Kjos, J.D., CLC I was doing laundry, making neat piles of shirts, shorts, pants, and socks. Then my twelve-year-old daughter Marit was standing next to me. "Mom," she said, "I just took a bunch of pills." When her preteen daughter became a suicide attempt survivor, Greta Kjos was living in the shadow of the deepest, darkest fear a mother could endure. But she also had a deep, dark secret of her own: at age nineteen, she had also attempted suicide. And not a single person knew. In this inspiring story, Greta shares how she survived amidst crisis and chaos―and took a courageous, intrinsically connected healing journey with her daughter. Part mental health memoir and part self-love book for women, each chapter includes a "Take a Deep Breath" section with mindfulness prompts, reflection questions, and wellness practices Greta has both experienced herself and developed in her "second act" as a life coach. Your authentic self is waiting for you―but it's never linear. There is a lot of deconstructing that must take place before moving forward. Old belief patterns and core wounds need to be examined. Relationships that no longer serve you may need to go. Careers may need to change. And yet no matter what the change is, at the core of all healing is the willingness to love yourself. The perfect companion for anyone healing their mental health and spiritual being, I Am the Ocean is a story of beginning to let the light shine through the cracks. -
by Angela Tucker An adoption expert and transracial adoptee herself examines the unique perspectives and challenges these adoptees have as they navigate multiple cultures “Your parents are so amazing for adopting you! You should be grateful that you were adopted.” Angela Tucker is a Black woman, adopted from foster care by white parents. She has heard this microaggression her entire life, usually from well-intentioned strangers who view her adoptive parents as noble saviors. She is grateful for many aspects of her life, but being transracially adopted involves layers of rejection, loss, and complexity that cannot be summed up so easily. In “You Should Be Grateful,” Tucker centers the experiences of adoptees to share deeply personal stories, well-researched history, and engrossing anecdotes from mentorship sessions with adopted youth. These perspectives challenge the fairy-tale narrative of adoption, giving way to a fuller story that explores the impacts of racism, classism, family, love, and belonging.
