Yesterday I had the privilege of taking a poetry class. And, while it was fun and full of inspiration, I was also reminded of how much I don’t know about the writing craft. The teacher did state, “in order to be better writers, we have to read A LOT.” So there’s one thing I’m doing right!
I’ve loved to read for as long as I can remember. Reading entertains, teaches, creates connection, and it can provide a healthy distraction from the often harsh reality called “Life”.
Today I’d like to share a short list of books I’ve enjoyed recently, and why. These books have enabled me to broaden my horizons, learn and, hopefully, grow.
So without further ado, and in no particular order, here’s the list:
Plant Dreaming Deep by May Sarton. I could say a lot about Ms. Sarton, because she was certainly an interesting person. But in order to keep this post to a practical length, I’ll be somewhat brief. May (Eleanore Marie) was a prolific writer of poetry, fiction and memoir. Possibly what strikes me most about her writing in Plant Dreaming Deep, which is one of several of May’s published journals, is that it’s so, well, interesting. Her writing about writing, gardening, entertaining and being entertained- basically the mundane things of her day-to-day existence, really held my interest and I frequently found myself reading “just one more page.”
Mink River by Brian Doyle. As a reader of The Sun magazine, I became familiar with Mr. Doyle’s work in the form of essay and short story. And I liked what I read. Mink River is rich prose! It is a story of a fictional coastal town in Oregon that is at once realistic and fantastical. I found myself frequently rereading sections, in an effort to take in all the lyrical beauty of his writing. Brian was the master of the short story as well as a deep and often unconventional thinker. Unfortunately, Mr. Doyle was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died within a year of diagnosis. He was 60 years old. Before his diagnosis he wrote “Cancer is to be endured, that’s all”. I couldn’t agree more.
In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate. I could go on and on about this book and it’s author, but will, again, attempt to be brief. This man has done hard things well. No, he has done very hard things very well. Hungry Ghosts is a book about addiction that somehow applies to all of us, in my opinion anyway. Dr. Mate spent a few decades in the Portland District in Vancouver B.C.; an area rife with poverty, addiction and mental illness. His writing tells the hard hitting truth with incredible empathy. He levels the field as he confides about his own addictions (to obsessive purchasing of classical music CDs, among other things). I had the amazing opportunity to hear Dr. Mate speak last year at an addictions conference and was impressed with his seemingly effortless wisdom, but most of all with his humility.
Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup. Kate is a phenomenal writer whose memoir certainly held my attention. Her husband Drew, a trooper with the Maine State Police had big plans for a second career. After his retirement from the force he would attend seminary and become a minister. Meanwhile, Kate planned to combine her writing with being a minister’s wife. Then one morning, Drew was killed instantly when a fully loaded box truck smashed into the driver’s side of his cruiser. Kate was left with their four young children (ages 3 through 9) and enough grief to last a lifetime. Then, she makes the extraordinary decision to live out Drew’s dream. She attends seminary and becomes an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and is hired as chaplain to the Maine Warden Service. One of my favorite lines from the book is: “I can’t make those two realities- what I’ve lost and what I’ve found- fit together in some tidy pattern of divine causality. I just have to hold them on the one hand and on the other, just like that.” I have eager plans to read more of Ms. Braestrups’ work!
So this, my last book to tell you about, blew me away. And I’m not exaggerating. It is (drumroll) Tattoos On The Heart by Gregory Boyle. Boyle is a Jesuit priest and his diocese is Dolores Mission located in what was, at the time, the “gang capital of the world” in East Los Angeles. Boyle’s amazing book recounts over 20 years of living with and loving gang members and their families from the barrio. “G”, as he is called by all who know and love him, writes of both the hilarious and the heartbreaking. His stories had me laughing and crying, often at the same time. I was amazed again and again, at the depth of compassion, grace and unconditional love “G” pours on his parishioners. But please don’t hear me say he paints a prettied up picture of himself or the ministry. He is, above all, painstakingly honest. If you are breathing, you need to read this book! Actually, I highly recommend that you listen to Father Boyle read it (it’s available on Audible) because his voice adds exponentially to the telling. Also, he knows Spanish and I don’t!
Happy reading!
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