Thankfully, these two books saved the day:
Little by Little by Jean Little (Juvenile Nonfiction)
I enjoyed reading about Jean Little’s childhood and how she overcame the challenges of being visually impaired in a world that made little effort to embrace those who were different. I also enjoyed watching her grow as a writer and how much her family shaped, encouraged, and nurtured her in this process, especially her father. When Jean gets lost coming home on the streetcar one day, she is exhausted, emotionally drained, and needs comfort. When she finally makes it home, her worried mom makes her dinner in bed and then invites the whole family in to read Secret Garden together. Jean writes, “I…needed a story to come between me and the difficult things that had happened.” There are lots of these poignant, a-ha moments tucked into this short autobiography, and by the end I was a little sad I could never meet this spunky, thoughtful author (she passed away in 2020).
The Artist's Rule by Christine Valters Paintner (Adult Nonfiction)
This is a great resource for writers and artists looking to savor and draw more inspiration from their artistic journeys. I like to think of this book as a mud room for creating – a place to come in, take off your shoes, sit down and reflect for a minute before leaving or entering your artistic space. I particularly enjoyed the reflections on the different times of day and the seasons of creating. I struggle with resting periods but they are so vital to any kind of growth, artistic or otherwise.
I jotted down so many quotes I could easily paper an entire wall with them. Here is a favorite from John Chryssavgis: “Silence is never merely the cessation of words…Rather it is the pause that holds together – indeed, it makes sense of – all the words, both spoken and unspoken. Silence is the glue that connects our attitudes and our actions. Silence is the fullness, not emptiness; it is not absence, but the awareness of a presence.”
No comments:
Post a Comment