Falling Back in Love With Being Human (Kai Cheng Thom)

 

Once I realized this was poetry, I could forgive the author for the lack of capitalization (that's the teacher in me!) The book is beautiful. It is almost like therapy. It has a story/poem and then a suggestions for something to do. Some of my favorites were: 

Make a list of five good things that you frequently do for other people. Within a two-week period, do them all, at least once, for yourself.

Design and perform a ritual to release something from your life that you love, but htat is no longer serving you. Throw a handful of dandelion seeds out the window of a moving vehicle, or clip a lock of your hair and leave it on your windowsill for the birds to carry away.

The author is a trans female. She is a Chinese Canadian. It was a beautiful opportunity to get a view of her heart and heartaches. It's very honest and vulnerable. In this day and age, this should be required reading. It would be great for a discussion.

Goodreads says:

What happens when we imagine loving the people--and the parts of ourselves--that we do not believe are worthy of love?

A transformative collection of intimate and lyrical love letters that offer a path toward compassion, forgiveness, and self-acceptance.

"Required reading."--Glennon Doyle

Kai Cheng Thom grew up a Chinese Canadian transgender girl in a hostile world. As an activist, psychotherapist, conflict mediator, and spiritual healer, she's always pursued the same deeply personal mission: to embrace the revolutionary belief that every human being, no matter how hateful or horrible, is intrinsically sacred.

But then Kai Cheng found herself in a crisis of faith, overwhelmed by the viciousness with which people treated one another, and barely clinging to the values and ideals she'd built her life around: justice, hope, love, and healing. Rather than succumb to despair and cynicism, she gathered all her rage and grief and took one last leap of faith: she wrote. Whether prayers or spells or poems--and whether there's a difference--she wrote to affirm the outcasts and runaways she calls her kin. She wrote to flawed but nonetheless lovable men, to people with good intentions who harm their own, to racists and transphobes seemingly beyond saving. What emerged was a blueprint for falling back in love with being human.

Feeling Seen (Jodi Carrington)

 

This book is so timely. Although we have moved on from the pandemic, the affects of it haven't moved on from us and it's something I believe that needs to be worked on. Jody Carrington is a masterful storyteller. The way she expresses herself is very relatable. The book was what I think it may be like to go to therapy. I thought the book was good, but I have misgivings about the author and have for a while. 

I haven't been much of a fan of Jody Carrington. She has been found guilty of misconduct and she talks like she's from red-neck Alberta (oh...she is) and she seems to mess up a lot. It makes her pretty human and definitely relatable. She definitely knows how to have those hard conversations and make amends.

Goodreads says:

Disconnection has become an epidemic, and it may require a revolutionary effort to get us back together — a reconnection revolution.   Staying connected in this human race is the most direct route to happiness. But never have we been more disconnected. A call to simply connect isn’t enough any longer. Connection is what we’re wired for, and it can be waving at your neighbour, going on that second date, buying coffee for the person behind you. The hard part comes when we are called on to re connect, to repair or re-engage, especially after we’ve been wronged, alienated or hurt. We all desperately want to get it right, but this requires another step, which is the magic each of us so often the act of seeing. As simple as it is complex, it all comes down to this when we’re feeling seen, we will rise.   Feeling Seen is a timely work with a timeless message. Written on a blueprint of theory, with a road map of reconnection (including three simple stops) and a way back for when we get lost, it leads to a place where all of those who share the human race will truly see—in ourselves as well as one another—our differences, our sorrows and our joys.