a glimpse of me through the books i read
by willeya
asking someone what books they read is like asking them, “who are you?”.
what’s important to you?
why is it important?
how is it changing you?
so tonight when my dinner-mate casually asked “if i’ve read any good books lately?” you can imagine my response.
i am pulled from the fly across the room’s buzzing and landing patterns to look full in her face. totally engaged.
the answer, long and round, was a way of getting to know myself; the things she said in response a way of knowing her too. every minute glorious.
the conversation served as a catalyst to more thoughts, a desire to see the question all the way through. what developed was a very personal book review:
this book was given to me by a dear friend {elisabeth}. it literally chased me around the united states before it caught me. i am grateful for its persistence and timing, as i needed what it gave, where it gave it: at home.
this book outlines a very specific way of eating but not before laying a foundational philosophy of health through layers and layers of provocative information. it dares to put food allergies, autism, depression, eczema, depression, pms, schizophrenia, crone’s disease, adhd, and many more conditions under one umbrella. to connect them all through our digestive system.
go ahead. call me crazy. i can take it.
but this stuff resonates with my common sense, my basic premises of holism, my “gut” if you will. i really enjoy being confirmed in the many changes we have made and learning about the many things left to do. the connection between our environment, our bodies, and our health is a vast playground for me and this book is a most fun, engaging apparatus {a swing, maybe?}
i haven’t actually cracked this one yet. but it’s sitting on my night stand as a bright spot in my future. this book has rave reviews by one of the broadest readers i know – my 9 year old niece.
book club leader, serious fantasy lover, and even published author, this girl knows her stuff. and this is her favorite series. her mother {where she gets it all from} calls it the modern day little women. i squeal. {good} fiction is the one non-reality that enhances my real reality, making more things possible. it’s a high that neither comes nor thrills cheaply. thus my unashamed, non-quenchable thirst for more. crossing my figurative fingers, i have high hopes for this one.
and now for the book that is barely a book to me – it is more like spiritual food. one that i am perpetually eating reading …
“the love that came to you in particular, concrete human friendships and that awakened your dormant desire to be completely and unconditionally loved was real and authentic. a love that comes to you through human beings is true, God-given love. death or absence does not end or even diminish the love of God that brought you to the other person. the task is not to die to life giving relationships but to realize the love you received in them is part of a greater love. this process is painful – very painful – because the other person has become a true revelation of God’s love for you. but the more you are stripped of the God-given support of people, the more you are called to love God for God’s sake.” (pg 28&64)
sitting in my apartment more alone than i have been in five weeks, my most profound expressions {besides ben} of love 17 hours away, feeling like i might just die without them, henri suggests that their love for me is really God’s love for me. that maybe just maybe God took a piece of his heart, placed it in theirs, and allowed them to express what is actually His. if this is true {and i daresay it is} then they can leave – forever even – and i still not be disconnected from the deep part of them that fills the deep part of me, which is love. because God is love. and God, in His love, is here with me, so close He’s inside. and oh that you could feel the warmth that returns to my lonely limbs…God’s love has never been this real – this quenching – before.
and so this book goes in my life, to my most messed up, longing places. time and time i learn from this man. his pain is profound and his pathways to God even more. the inner voice of love has turned out to be a very meaningful way His love has gotten through.
thank you – dear mother in law – for asking {and listening too}. what a perfectly lovely, delightfully rich question – a meal in itself.
and now that you’ve listened this long, it’s only polite to ask {plus i really want to know}…
read any good books lately?
every common bush 
i’m going to have to add a couple of these to my list!
I’m curently reading “the immortal life of Henrietta Lacks” – part history, part science, part social justice. all true and very exciting.
and i just finished a memoir called, “The Invisible Wall”. an excellent story of love and racial/religious divide between jews and christians in pre-WW1 England, told from the perspective of a little boy.
I don’t know why I never really thought about it, but i suppose you do learn a lot about someone from the books they read :)
yes, emily, i have noticed at other times that you are interested in social justice and racial reconciliation. how did that interest develop for you? would you suggest the books you mentioned or any others that stick out on social justice. it is a subject i would like to think more on.
hmmm…my interest in social justice has been forming since our Moody days, enhanced while interning in England where i learned a lot more about fair trade and human trafficking, and solidified in my Master of Social Work studies. my interest in racial reconciliation was really piqued as well during my masters studies.
these two books deal with these issues to some extent, but not necessarily directly. a couple of books that i would highly recommend are…
There are no Children Here (true story about kids growing up in the Henry Horner projects in Chicago).
The Jungle – Upton Sinclair- classic muckraker novel, also takes place in chicago
anything written by Tim Wise
irresistible revolution by Shane Claiborne
Those are a few off the top of my head. if you’re looking for anything specific let me know!
hope you looked up to find this. don’t know why it won’t let me comment below you. anyways THANK YOU. i will definitely read one of these. i think when it comes to social justice issues awareness is so key. we went to an orphan care summit in may and i went to a session about trafficking. wow. i was so moved by the mere stories…it’s like once you know you can’t go back. thanks again for the suggestions
orphan care summit? where/who is that through?
What a perfect blog comment to join in on! Your wordcrafting is alot like Ann Vos…..?? of 1000 gifts. Maybe you are in line for a book somewhere. I think she started on a blog and the book developed out of it. I enjoyed savoring the books together as well!
welcome mom willey! that’s funny that you see similarities between my and ann v’s writing. i think i start to pick up on people’s writings that i am captivated by. hers is definitely compelling and i find myself thinking more poetically lately :).
My friend Melanie, who I’ve told you a lot about, loves this book and Ann V’s blog. She’s kind of obsessed with her:) She bought me the 1000 Gifts book, but I have yet to really read it. I’ll have to give it another chance.
One of the books on my to-do list is “Praying the Scriptures for your Children”. I read it while Cole and Marcus were small but want to do it again for Owen. Lovely ideas about what you want for your children, but I have a hard time putting it into words/prayers. “The Help” was one of my most recent favorites in fiction. Love your blog Anna!!!
angie, with atticus getting older, i see books like these on my horizons!! i’m feeling pretty clueless as far as training/disciplining/disciplining his character. o man. thanks for the suggestion…and for liking my blog :)
Well, my reading has not been very broad at all lately. But I have been reading one book during the late night and early morning feedings with sweet Sadie. Have I told you about Andrew Peterson’s books? Do you know him as a musician? Well, he’s amazing. And his books are amazing, too. They’re technically young adult fiction. But Audi, they are wonderful. The series is called the Wingfeather Saga. And he just came out with the third book of four in May. Great adventure stories with great family relationships. I’m reading the third one right now, and it is so good. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You should check it out:) The first one is called “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness,” the second is “North! Or Be Eaten!” and the third is “The Monster in the Hollows.” I know the titles kind of sound ridiculous, but they are such good reads.
Ok. That’s all. Love you!
Becky, the Matt Loseys are way into his books. They were big Peterson’s fans before his books came out and now they are reading them. Anna’s niece that she refers to is in this family. I congratulate you and Bob on the birth of Sadie! Julie Losey
ok. i’m sold. this will be my next fiction series. i’ve never been a big andrew peterson fan like matt and cheyanna, but i will try him again. thanks for the suggestion becky!!
I loved reading Monique and the Mango Rains about a 2 year stint with the peace corps in Mali with a midwife. Very eye opening to the culture and their needs while still having a great narrative flow.
very. interesting. thanks :)
Well, my sister-in-law Helen has recommended Natural Birth the Bradley Way. It’s next to my bed, but I’m delaying getting into it. 3 months to go, and I am not totally warmed up to the idea of facing the reality of a birth in my future! Luke refers to this particular book as the “naked people book.” Sounds exciting. Am going to have to crack it open sooner or later!
Also have been reading some church papers/documents on homosexuality that were sent to me by a former Bible & religion professor. Have recently had a friend/mentor “come out” and invite me to her same-sex union ceremony, and I’ve been digging back through scripture for a Biblical response, wanting to love and understand while staying true to scripture. So, that’s been interesting reading.
i have definitely heard of the bradley method. a lot of my friends use it. we decided to go with hypnobirthing. if luke calls bradley the “naked people book” i’m scared to hear what he’d say about hypnobirthing ;). there are definitely rainbows involved and everything….but it was SO HELPUL. oh my goodness it was helpful. whatever you do/read, i really do hope you have a calm, safe labor…there really is nothing like it…in a good way :)
Anna, I like your comments and need to read them again more slowly. trying to do a bunch of things at once. called amelia to wish her a happy bday. when she found out it was us on the line, she screamed, “Grandma! Grandpa! wanna skype and see me open my presents?!” a variety of books you have posted. how about that helpful book sent recently about parenting? any good stuff in there? :-) i am reading heaven is for real to dad these days. not very far into it yet. love, mom